The Shadow King
by Scorpina
Summary: It hits him harder than anticipate. Bad must accept the fact that he is now the new Shadow King. Problem is, since the war with Garou's family is over, other vampires have come to try and claim the power of the Crimson plague for their own from Garou. Another war is about to erupt...
1. Chapter 1

The Shadow King.

Chapter 1

Bad wasn't in the mood for this.

It's one thing to be turned into a half vampire against his will, all for the sake of feeding Garou. It's another to become the King of Shadows without realizing it! Ever since he learned the truth, he has been trying to take it one day at a time. Garou took him home instantly and insisted that Bad just regain his thoughts and think things through. "I'll go pick up Zenko okay? Just relax," and left.

Bad sat on the couch, staring at his hands that has yet to turn back to normal. All he could do was shake his head to it all. "What the hell am I now?" he whispered.

{Our King}

He froze.

Bad looked about the room, trying to find the one who said it aloud. But he was the only one in the house. "Who said that?" he demanded as he slowly stood, armed with his baseball bat in hand. "Answer me!"

{I did} the voice came again. {Within your shadow, your grace. All who serve you are always at your call, just say the word and we will come to your aid, we will appear and fight for you!}

"And… just who are you?" Bad asked.

There was silence for a moment. {My King,} Bad jumped as his shadow began to drift across the floor. He froze, as a body became to come out and then stand before him. The shadow took solid form, but it was a familiar face.

"Sonic" he whispered.

The ninja bowed to him and offered his sword. "My alliances are with you, to serve and die for you if necessary. I am but your humble bodyguard, and I do hope my meals have been adequate for his majesty's liking."

Bad paused. "You've been making the meals for us?"

"In honestly, the meals are meant for you and you alone. However, I have begun to make more to satisfy your court. If you desire my King, I will sever your contract with the one named Garou… he is no longer necessary to you, nor are you bound to him as you were before…"

"What do you mean? Garou turned me into a half vampire for my blood. Of course I am still bound to him. You off your nut?"

Sonic smiled wickedly and it only grew. "The former Shadow King sought to kill Garou and obtain his power. You are more than capable of doing such action now than before. One word my King and you will have his head!"

"NO!" Bad shouted. "You lay one hand on him, I swear to God, I will devour your shadow next or whatever!"

Sonic went pale white, the smile vanished as he began to appear nervous. "I… I am so sorry my King! I will not speak of such a thing again. I merely thought you wished to be free from the Plague's grasp!"

"Not one hand… is to be laid on him… you hear me?" Bad demanded.

Sonic fell silent but nodded his head. "Good…" he paused as Bad found he began to sound like a King now. He sighed to it all. "Sonic… can I speak with some of the other shadows before Garou and my sister get home?" he asked.

"The realm is yours to command my liege, you may come and go as you please within the shadow world!"

"Oh, right…" Bad paused. "Uh… how?" he asked.

Sonic merely smiled. "You merely stand in place my King, think of the shadow world you entered before and you shall be taken there instantly." He nodded to the instruction until he took notice the clock. "You're in charge of dinner, I'll be back soon"

With that, Bad focused, his eyes closed as he envisioned the shadow world he entered only twice before. He didn't feel any different nor did he sense the world shift, yet as his eyes opened, he found himself staring into a sea of glowing eyes. They were quick to lower.

"Hail Shadow King, even Death welcomes you with open arms!"

He shuttered at the greeting, but for now he will endure it. Bad surveyed over the shadows and found each of them appeared to have a glowing essence to them. Like a fire burning within their shadows to give them a sense of expression and perhaps identity too. With that, he could see different faces and people. He knew who was who because of this strange and very unusual development.

It was then he also noticed another thing. The place appeared rather cramp!

"Hey… is this all what the shadow realm is? Just… nothingness?" he asked.

Jima was quick to come forward. "My King, the realm is whatever you make of it. The previous King kept it confined, for we were to remain within him until he decided to summon us." He explained.

"That ain't comfortable is it?" he asked.

"We feel no pain, comfort…" Jima trailed off.

"So… What if I say make this place as comfortable for you and everyone here? Just as long as you ain't impeding on another huh?" he asked.

The shadows suddenly exchanged confused looks. "Make this comfortable?" one whispered.

"Is that even possible?"

"You got to be board out of your minds here… wait… you ain't waiting in my body to be summoned are ya?" Bad asked.

"You have not done the proper method in doing so, but once we join your body, we will never be released to the afterlife if you desire to allow us to…" Jima explained.

"Nah, that ain't right… Uh… what about my Shadow? Is that connected to this place directly? Would that work out better? You can hang out there and if I need ya I call?" he asked.

Jima was taken aback by his words. "Contentment… you are seriously considering our wellbeing my King?"

"If you are staying here, yeah!" he said. "Look, I still don't even know what the hell I am doing as your king or whatever. But for now, I want you guys to know and be happy where you are. I ain't the kind to be a King of whatever or something…" he said as his voice trailed off. But in the back of his mind he was wondering, how many of these things were really at his beck and call. He could see endless eyes staring at him, he couldn't even tell who belonged where or what was what. But still, they were looking up to him, to serve him.

'What the hell have I gotten myself into?' he thought. Clearing his throat he made another announcement. "If the old council had anything hidden here, kept away from the other shadows, I want that opened up. If they hid books or something, I want to ensure everyone has access to them! No more secrets. Everyone here is equal, cool?" he asked.

"Books? The books of shadows can be read by us?" Jima asked.

"No one has seen such wonders unless they are on the council or the king themselves!" whispered one that appeared to be a vampire. Bad wasn't certain.

"Yeah, well as I said, this is your world, you're living here. So… whatever…"

The once cramp space began to open instantly. The shadows were able to spread themselves out as the Bad himself felt it became less congested in an instant. Doors suddenly appeared and opened before the masses. There were books waiting to be read, a crazy looking lab full of vials and potions of sorts. Some rooms Bad couldn't quite see into, but the shadows were interested. So much so they all turned back to him and bowed graciously!

"THANK YOU SHADOW KING!"

"Yeah, well remember what I said eh? No impeding on another's comfort, everyone make yourselves at home since this is your home alright?"

They nodded graciously. "Okay… how the hell do I get back home then?"

#

Garou took the long way home after picking up Zenko. He was rather silent to her, and she was silent to him. She sighed aloud before announcing. "When were you going to tell me Bad is the new Shadow King?" she asked.

Garou froze stiff. Zenko walked ahead of him but glared into his eyes with her hands on her hips. "Well?" she demanded.

He sighed aloud. "I just found out today he was… I didn't think this would happen, but…" he said and leaned down to Zenko. "I don't know… what is going to happen next... I made a promise to you that I would never intentionally hurt Bad, but this is all my fault, I know it is… I am sorry…"

He paused as Zenko began to pat the top of his head. "You couldn't have known it would happen, but what matters is this. I have my brother. Bad didn't go anywhere and he's still with me. That's all I care about!" she said.

Garou smiled as she gently ruffled his hair, he doesn't let ANYONE touch his hair, however, he made an exception for her. With that he stood back up and took her hand. As they walked, Zenko began to look at him oddly. "You've changed too," she said offhandedly.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, before you had this strange pressure coming off of your body. When you turned Big Brother, there was this… aura about you. Yet, ever since Bad became this… your power has lightened. It's not as dominating as it was before…"

"Huh… I haven't been feeding from him a lot either. Not to mention two mouthfuls of blood and I am good for almost a week now. He's been pressuring me to feed more… I think he's worried that I am holding back for his sake. But the reality is… I just don't crave it as often. That sensation of hunger is nearly non existent now."

"Is that a good thing?" she asked. "I mean, you had to feed nearly every other day from Bad!"

"By Pig God's order before the war, he had me feed three times a day to maintain my strength…" Garou began to think over what Amai said earlier. He has been rendered human by drinking from Bad, how is it that despite his situation, Garou himself hasn't been rendered human by the same effect?

It didn't matter anymore. Instead, Garou decided to just enjoy the peace that they have been given.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

At the heroes association.

The meeting was rather interesting after Bad left, and the shadow vanished, there came an odd silence among the Heroes in the room. Zombieman took out a fresh smoke and was quick to partake in it. "What do we do now? This seems fishy to me…" he said.

"Indeed it does, however I think this is an opportunity." Said Silverfang. "Considering there has been no one who isn't a shadow has been permitted on the council before. We have heard from Snek as well Jima is his uncle. Snek's family is very well educated in the ways of various being and knows to see thing from other perspectives. That, and perhaps this council truly wishes to have proper representation." He said.

"Be that as it may, why me?" Zombieman demanded. "Why not you? Why not Flash?"

"Are you resenting this?" asked Atomic.

"Just trying to figure out what they want from someone like me." His back was up, despite what it is offering. Zombieman couldn't help but sense a trap to say the least. After all, he was nobody's fool.

He has spent his years researching the 'others' that live on this world. He was the first to discover the truth about Snek, then realized Pig God was an actual god. Slowly, the world began to reveal its secrets and many were hidden within the Heroes association. He was still out of place among the others who hide in the human world. But then again, Zombieman felt as if he weren't part of either one. One Dr. Genus made him immortal in a lab, since then, he has been called a monster among men. One who does not die no matter what is thrown at them is considered very strange and monster like.

With the meeting done, Zombieman was the first to leave the room. He wanted to do more research about this so-called Shadow King and it's role in this world.

He just stepped out of the room and took a right when suddenly…

DROP

Zombieman was tripped, yet didn't hit the ground. Instead, he sat up and was in a darkness he has never seen or felt before! "Oh good, you came. Come, we are about to start the meeting."

He looked up to see a glowing silhouette of Jima from earlier. He was still looking like a shadow but had a neon blue glow to his body, the front of his chest and his face. "What the hell… where am I?"

"The shadow realm." Jima explained. "Come Z, we are waiting for you."

"The name is Zombieman," he snapped back.

He picked himself up off the floor, in an instant a plume of smoke appeared and then a shadowy table. Representatives sat before him and yet he couldn't help but notice what sat there.

"Let's see, Hellcat, werewolf, Naga, Orc, Minotaur, vampire, Troll and a… dragon…" the dragon he noticed at the far end of the table, it was a massive thing and yet it sat with great patience. "Okay, what the hell is all of this?"

"Z, these are the strongest of our forces that are under our King's command, the lesser known races are adopted under these leaders due to similar traits they share and common battled strategies. They are the strongest of their kind and I have chosen them to represent their legions. They speak on their behalf. Shadows of the council, representing the humans, Z!" Jima announced.

"Zombieman!" he protested.

Jima however was unwavering. "Our King has called you Z, until he has told us otherwise, you are Z to us. Have a seat."

He sneered at the notion yet took a seat on the opposite side of the table. Jima took command as he explained the situation. "We are here to make certain our King has the best forces at his command, we will ensure that we will not fail, we will not waver and more importantly, we will be there for him! Agreed?" he asked.

The table roared in agreement with Jima, Zombieman froze as he saw just how blindly loyal they are to him. The dragon spoke, but even thought he understood the shadow language, the dragon didn't speak it to say the least. It was low growls and tones that merely got a nod from Jima. "For those who may not understand our dragon friend has offered to become body guard to the princess. Are there any objections?"

"I DO!" protested the Minotaur. "Why should the dragon have such honor in defending the Princess? Leave that job to me, I am better suited!"

"NO ME!" stated the Orc. "Protecting the Princess would be a great pleasure!"

The table broke out into arguments until Jima settled thing. "ENOUGH!" he called. But then turned to Zombieman. "Z, if one were to defend the princess, who among the table is worthy or better suited to the task?" he asked.

He was stunned that they sought his opinion. He took a moment to think about it. 'Protecting the princess? They must mean Bad's sister.' He thought. Looking about the table he stared down each of the shadows until he asked. "Who here can change their size and form?"

"We all can to the point of our original states!" proclaimed the Hellcat.

"Okay, how big can each of you become… can you become as big as the dragon there?" he asked.

The table fell silent as the Dragon appeared to have a smug look on its face now. "You can change your shape to become smaller, correct?" he asked.

The dragon nodded. "Are you full size right now?" he asked, it shook its head no. "Then let the dragon do it."

"WHAT!" the others demanded. "Princess Zenko is a treasure to our King!" protested the werewolf.

"Yeah, and I know what kind of monsters are up there in the human world. You got that dragon that can deal with all of them. For the rest of you, some will be too big to handle and you need more of you to take down a monster. Nah, you are better to leave Zenko with the dragon."

The table fell silent but reluctantly nodded. The dragon bowed its head before departing. "Where the hell did it go?"

"To protect Princess Zenko. It will remain in her shadow until needed." Jima explained.

Zombieman couldn't help but feel he may have made a mistake in judgment on this…

#

The meeting went on. Jima was merely explaining to Zombieman of those under the command of the new Shadow King. As such, those forces will do anything to protect him and do what he asks. "He could come up to us and state he wishes to consume our shadow. We will do so with honor!"

"Yeesh, you guys won't challenge him?" Zombieman asked.

"Why would we?" asked the werewolf. "You fail to understand how strong our king is. As well, how generous this one has been to us."

"Generous?"

Jima explained. "In the reign of the old king, we shadows are given nothing. We were forced to live within the king himself when he has a new vessel, until he commanded us to do his bidding. We were trapped in a confined space until the summoning. This one, has graciously allowed us to live outside of his physical body. He had given us the gracious command of 'live in comfort of my shadow, as long as it does not hinder the comfort of others' since then, the shadow realm has changed drastically. When there was darkness, there are now places we each can go to and call home. Never has such been offered to mere underlings of the King before. This isn't limited to the council either, but all under his command. Well over a few million to say the least."

Zombieman froze. A few million?

"Wait… you mean…"

"The Shadow King has been gathering legions for thousands of years, all legions created from the previous king can be absorbed into the newer one before death occurs. We were fortunate that Bad did such a thing before Pig God devoured the former ruler. As such, we are eternally grateful to our new Monarch, we will serve him well and honor him as much as possible."

'Creepy' Zombieman thought. "So, why do you need me?" he asked.

"You will be our tie breaker, as you just were now with the legions. You will also be our representative to speak on our behalf if the King does now wish for us, his shadow warriors to enter a conversation. We will refrain, but ask if you speak well on our behalf."

"Uh… huh… what's in it for me? No offence or anything…"

"None taken. Being on our council, you have our word, should there come a time where you, yourself are in need of help. We will answer you, Z, our shadowless brother!"

'This shit is getting weirder and weirder…' He paused to consider it all, but then an idea struck him. "Is it possible for me to move through the darkness like you do? In the human realm, I am more of a spy and tend to go to dangerous areas to survey monsters that could be a threat. Is it possible to gain the ability?" he asked.

The shadows appeared rather surprised. "Is that all you desire? To be able to travel through the darkness as we do and our king?" asked the Hellcat.

"As long as I don't get turned into a shadow for the sake of that lone ability, yes, please." He said graciously.

"No problem" announced Jima. His hands began to contort oddly as a glass vile appeared to have form into his hands. With a satisfied nod, he took the container and offered it to Zombieman. "Drink this in the human world, and in complete darkness. From then on, you will be table to travel as we do. You will also be able to come here if you ever feel the need to. However I should mention, you merely can't walk into a dark corner unless you know where you wish to be. Have a good sense of what is around you and the areas you tend to travel to."

He took the vial and tucked it away for the time being. "Are we done here?"

"Indeed, I will send you back. Welcome Z, to the council of the king!"

Before he could even stand up and out of the chair, Zombieman felt himself pulled down! Yet when he jolted, he sat up against a dark part of the hallway of the Heroes Association. "Goddamn it that's annoying." He muttered. Picking himself off the ground, he decided to head out and survey the areas he has been keeping an eye on. Yet he wondered if he should take the vial, after all, for all he knows, these shadows could be lying to him!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Garou jolted.

He stopped and stared as he felt something appear out of nowhere under his feet. Zenko froze too. "Garou…" she whispered. They turned and saw a pair of large, demonic eyes staring through the darkness of Zenko's shadow for but a moment. "Garou… what is that?" she asked fearfully.

"One of Bad's new friends…" he muttered. "A damn powerful one too…"

"What is it doing here?" she whispered.

"Dunno, let's ask Bad."

They kept silent to it, Garou couldn't help but feel his skin crawl at the notion of something lingering in Zenko's shadow. Something that powerful too waiting for a moment to reveal itself. By the time they got home, Garou let Zenko into the house first, but paused as he could sense something else was off. He didn't like it the least bit, yet went inside shortly after.

Bad was in the kitchen, dinner was already made and at the ready for everyone. He was quick to take notice of the creature in Zenko's shadow. "You got a reason to be there?!" he demanded.

Garou walked in, yet froze at the sight of Bad yelling at the shadow behind Zenko's chair. Yet he stood there and waited, until the look of anger dropped from his face. "For real? You'll do that?" he asked with great sincerity. He then gave a nod. "Okay then, I'm trusting you, got it?"

"Uh… if I didn't know you were the Shadow King, I would be worried about now." Garou said.

"Nah, it's cool. She has a dragon protecting her."

Zenko froze. "A dragon!" she demanded.

"Yep, one of the strongest shadows I got, volunteered for the job to keep you safe. Apparently this one is on the council made by Jima, he represents the dragons and other lizard like creatures I got apparently. He seems like a nice guy."

Zenko suddenly peered over her shoulder, but saw no demon eyes staring back at her. "Does he have a name?" she asked.

Bad peered over her shoulder. "Nope, he said you could name him."

"Again, creepy as hell." Garou muttered as he took a seat.

"I'll think about a good name for him, I don't want it to be something silly," Zenko stated.

They ate dinner in silence at first. Garou however kept peering over to Bad who was lost in his own thoughts by the looks of it. Garou was half way done his plate of roast beef and mashed potatoes when he heard Bad say. "Garou… what can the Shadow King do? What is he capable of?"

Garou worried for this moment. There has been something hidden from him, that no one has told Bad yet. "Do you know why the Shadow King is so feared and yet sought after?" he questioned.

"Shit, if I knew I wouldn't be asking you!" Bad snapped back.

"But you do want to know?"

Silence befell the table, Bad thought it over but then nodded his head. "Yeah, I mean, one of them… Sonic who I spoke with, my bodyguard apparently. He was terrified when I threatened I would eat his shadow if he crossed me… he threatened you so I put an end to that quickly." Garou was stunned that Bad would stand up for him like that, but he continued to listen. "Why would someone like him be terrified of his shadow being eaten?"

Garou sighed aloud, his fork put down as he looked Bad dead in the eyes. Bad didn't look away as Garou said flat out. "Because, you aren't eating shadows… you are eating souls."

He sat there, petrified. "Souls?" he whispered. "I… I'm eating souls!?"

A nod came from the human monster. "Yeah, all those under your command, aren't shadows, but souls of the fallen. They have unwavering loyalty to you, for you prevented them from falling into death. Yet it also the power you have over them as well. As easily as their souls have been brought back, they can be taken and sent on to the afterlife. Many… don't wish to die such a way. For most, they are warriors, and they didn't die a warrior's death. Being shadows, they are able to fight still, to serve and be of use to a great ruler until they no longer have need or use for them anymore. Many, refuse to leave the side of their King, many don't want to move on for they wish to serve."

Bad still shook his head to it all. "But… souls?!" he said.

"King of the Shadows, even Death welcomes you with open arms… the greeting, that's what is it. The Shadow King is an extension of death itself. Those created to serve are fallen warriors from various races," Garou said. "I'm sorry no one told you this until now…"

Zenko was silent too, her hands covered her mouth as she turned to Bad with a stunned look. "Big Brother… are you going to be okay?" she whispered.

He began scratching the back of his head nervously, he said nothing as he suddenly left the table in a huff, and slamming the door to his bedroom. Zenko jumped as it happened, but she turned to Garou. "Did you have to tell him that?!" she demanded.

He nodded. "No lies, right? I could have lied to him, but then, I would lose his trust. I couldn't do that to Bad, he would have learned sooner than later the truth." Garou suddenly lost his appetite. He pushed his plate away and sighed. "I need some air. Leave the dishes, I'll get them when I get back."

He walked out of the house and was quick to get out of the city. He needed to breath; Garou had much on his mind too. After all, all this happened ever since Bad became his match. He wondered thought if he hadn't, would this world be better off? So many thoughts plagued him, so many notions made his head hurt. They stopped more than one threat to this world, but at what price?

Garou was about to go into the streets of City V, when he paused. Someone was following him rather closely… and they have a killing intent!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Bad took a seat at the edge of his bed, holding his head in his hands, wondering what he has become. "Soul eater… a demonic soul eater!" he muttered to himself. "What the fuck! How the hell do I live with myself like this?"

He tried to make sense of it all, until a small tap came to his door. "Not now!" he protested.

"Big Brother…"

He paused as his heart broke a little, Zenko…

"Okay… come in…" he said reluctantly.

The door opened but a crack, then she peered into the room. She wasn't scared of him, but she didn't want to intrude either by the looks of it. In her hand, was a hot cup of tea for him, she carefully carried it into the room and offered it. "Thought you could use this to settle your nerves…"

He smiled to her, Zenko was beyond sweet in his mind. He graciously took the drink and tasted it. She could make the perfect cup of green tea at the drop of a hat. "Thanks sis, I needed this."

She took a seat right next to him. She leaned into him lovingly and said. "Bad… can I have ice cream?" she asked.

"Did you eat your dinner?"

"Most of it… the dragon ate the rest"

He rolled his eyes to her as she giggled. "Zenko… I don't know what's going to happen to me from this moment on." He said gently. "I am not the same guy I was last week… hell, I am not the same guy I was last month either…" he said with a sigh. "I… I really don't know what I am anymore."

"That's easy! You're my big brother! I am sure we had a conversation like this before too didn't we?" she said and smiled warmly to him. "Big Brother, you have always protected me, you have protected the cities too, you are still a hero… just a little different."

"Yeah, but Z…"

"Bad…" she suddenly got up on her knees on his bed, she grabbed the sides of his face and had her look him in the eyes. "You know, I see things, I see things that no one else can, not even you, not even Garou. I don't see a threat to anyone innocent before me. I see a threat to those who wish to harm others, you are not out for power, for the sake of displaying it. You want to help people since it's the right thing to do!"

He couldn't bear to bring himself to move out of her firm grasp, but he nodded to her. "Yeah… but still, a soul eater sis!"

"How many have you eaten?" she demanded. "And where they bad souls?"

He nodded his head. "Six, the council that would have decided a new King among themselves if the rule was not in effect. They were a bunch of douche bags to say the least, wanting to offer the guys who were trapped with me from the original Shadow King as the first 'shadows' to consume in order to become King…" he said. But still shook his head to it all. "Sis… what if I have to do that often now? What if I have to eat souls to sustain myself like Garou needs blood?" he asked.

"Then, you do. But only from people I say who are bad."

He smiled. "I think I could agree to that!" he took a deep calming breath and found his hands suddenly turned back to normal. He felt around his eyes and found the veins were gone as well. Finally, he felt human again.

{My King}

Bad froze as he heard a voice again. "Someone calling me…" he said. "Whose speaking?"

{Ravager, werewolf of the council of shadows. Garou is in danger sire! What are you commands?}

"Garou's in danger…" he said.

Zenko stood up as well. "Where is he?"

"Ravager? Where is Garou at this moment?"

{He resides on the rooftop in City V, the threat is someone known to him. It isn't his brother but kin, other vampires}

{My King! DO NOT INTERFERE!}

"Damn two of them now. Whose this?"

{Bloodbore, vampire, sir. The elders of the vampire community are confronting Garou. You cannot interfere! If they see you are with him, it will be a declaration of war! They do not know you as the Shadow King as of yet, you appear out of nowhere to a vampire they will quickly know!}

"Goddamn it… what do I do? Wait, I get there the old fashion way! Sis, I got to go help Garou, stay here and wait for me, yes you can have ice cream!"

She smiled and embraced him tightly. "Go get them big brother!"

With that, Bad rushed out of the house, he doesn't need the shadows to get to Garou, after all, he is still bounded to him…

#

He stood at the ready.

"You assholes have been following me around far too long. SHOW YOURSELVES!" he shouted.

They appeared.

Dropping from the skies, Garou found himself surrounded by vampire elders. He should have known they would appear after the war. His mother was among them no less, and made certain none would come after him until she was through. Yet, since her defeat, it has become open season no doubt. The oldest of them all was well over 5,000 years old. He smiled wickedly to Garou and licked his lips. "It's been a while child, you have been running for so long, would you like to rest now?"

"Burn in hell." Garou snapped back. "You are all here for my father's power… figures as much." He muttered. "I ain't giving it up, you aren't getting a drop of blood out of me. So let's just call this thing off and I'll forget you even showed your sorry faces around here."

They laughed. There were ten of them and they were all thinking the same thing. Garou's blood, and the power of the Crimson Plague stood before them. The vampire carrot dangled out, and they were all willing to take a risk to at least bite into it. Two of them got a little over zealous. They dashed forward, hoping to land the first strike.

However, Garou was too fast. He ducked down, grabbed one by the neck and snapped it! The other he used the body of the elder he just took out and threw it into him! The two were knocked back, and yet despite the snapped neck, the elder was quick to heal over. "Insolent child!" he scolded.

"That was a warning"

The smiles faded from the elders as they began to gather even closer. They were ready to attack, and Garou was ready to take them all down if need be. "Just a moment… didn't you find someone special? Yes? Your mother spoke of it, you found your match didn't you?" the eldest stated.

"What of it?" Garou demanded.

He appeared curious now. "Tell me, son of the Plague. How many legions do you have? Who follows you? How many in your coven?" he asked.

This was rather confusing to him, Garou glared at him. "Why does it matter?" he asked. "For all you know I have an army greater than yours!"

This made the other elders pause from their attack, they turned to the oldest among them who waved off the notion. "In that case, let's settle this like true vampires. Garou, son of the Crimson Plague, we challenge you to ragnarok!"

He was stunned. "Are you shitting me?" he demanded. "What is the purpose of such a challenge? You really want to risk your own asses to face me! I could drain you all dry!" he protested

The elder smirked. "You forget the purpose of ragnarok!" he laughed aloud. "It is to ensure the vitality of the vampires. We battle with our top warriors and ensure those among us are truly worthy to be. After all, once the declaration of ragnarok is evoked, you cannot turn it down."

Garou roared defiantly. "You have no right to call such a thing, besides isn't this against the rules of the elders themselves. It cannot be called out any given moment!"

"It's only allowed once after the red moon." Said another. "What say you? You do accept? If you do not, you forfeit and we earn the right to your blood!"

Garou sneered at them. "I accept."

"Good, tell your match will anticipate a good battle… and a good meal from him. Think of it elders! A mortal with such blood supply, ours for the taking!"

It took everything in his power to prevent himself from smiling, Garou had to play it cool for now, after all, it appears none of them are aware yet of the actions that took place during the red moon.

The elders peered at each other but smiled. "Why not, we will bring our strongest underlings too. Make things interesting. Your legions against our legions!"

Garou then smirked. "Very well, I want a contract of blood."

This took the elders by surprise. "A contract of blood? Why?"

"To be sure there is no backing out. We agree, you and your strongest underlings against my coven. We use nothing more than the talents and power we possess, is that fair?"

The elders smirked. "But of course!"

"Good, a contract of blood then," said the second oldest.

The vampires summoned a contract, each elder nicked their finger and allowed a single drop of blood to flow onto the page, signing it. Garou was the last to do so, as the contract signed. With that, they vanished. When ragnarok is called, there can no longer be interference among the vampires. Not until the day of the contest. With that, the vampires left and vanished from sight.

Garou collapsed from it all, he didn't think the elders would come so soon for him and Bad. His mother did only one good thing and that was to keep bastards like them from coming for his father's power.

When he was able to calm his thoughts, Garou froze as he heard someone trudging up the steps to the rooftop. The door kicked open, Bad appeared and was ready to fight. Yet he only saw Garou. "What the hell is going on!?" he demanded.

"Have a seat, we need to talk."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So… we're going to war again!?" Bad demanded.

Garou told him about the vampire challenge invoked by the elders, ragnarok. It is to ensure the health and also the power of the elders and their legions. It is a cheep way of taking out competition and yet also your enemies at the same time. "They do this every so often to ensure that their power is absolute, as well, it prevents constant vampire wars if one elder has an issue with another. And what not, sometimes they do this to blow off steam to say the least. But this time… they are all gunning for you and me…"

Bad sneered. "You really know how to fuck up my life, you do know that?"

Garou smirked. "One of my better abilities." But he paused. "I don't know when they are going to challenge us, but I need a way to hide your presence. Your aura alone will given way the fact that we got this, however, I want to be sure they don't know that."

A nod came from Bad as he appeared to have paused. He turned to the darkness as Jima appeared. Garou jumped, despite his vampire senses, shadows as nearly impossible to hear! "Jima, you heard all that?" Bad asked.

"Yes, my King, and I have a solution, but you must speak with Snek. There is an elixir that can be made to hide your presence among the creature with great perception. However this elixir will prevent you from calling upon us to assist you. It will last 24 hours." He explained.

"We don't know when these assholes are coming to challenge us huh?" Bad asked.

"No, they could call it a year from now or tomorrow for all I know."

"Shit…" Bad growled. He sighed aloud. "Don't got much choice then. Where is Snek?"

Jima paused as his head lowered. "This is part of the reason why I came to you my King, I have a selfish request to ask of you. Snek has returned to his homeland, you see, his is an heir to the throne of his people. But… there is a problem."

Bad suddenly stood up. "Go on, I'm listening…"

#

The journey took Snek a mere day or so. After all, he knows all the secret passages, portals and methods of returning to his homeland of the Nagas. He never really told anyone this but he could say he is a prince to his people. He had a few siblings, yet many perished in combat over the years. It has come down to him and his older brother Hydrin. Snek has wanted to tell his father for a while now that he was not interested in taking the throne or becoming king, he wanted to travel the world and learn. He nearly considered just skipping the whole thing together, but it would look bad on his part. So he made certain the Heroes Association was good before leaving for home. The creatures of myth and legends live on the other side of the super continent, rarely have humans dared to go to the other side of the world, yet creatures like Snek are more than willing to travel and see what the humans have to offer and learn.

He was given a hero's welcome when he came back. But was instantly instructed to go to see the King.

His father lives in a castle at the top of a rather large hill that over looked the land. If anything it was as if someone cut a mountain in half and placed the castle on top of it. For all he knew, it had happened! He slithered into the pristine palace, the court as already gathered as was his older brother. Hydrin stood rather tall and proud, he was easily double Snek's size. The years he has battled were not in vein, yet his body was covered in large scars. "Brother…" Hydrin stated in a rather brash tone.

"Hi, long time no see."

"Tch, you look as weak as ever brother, have you no honor in combat?" he demanded.

"I fight more often than you think." Snek scolded.

The two fell silent as the royal court began to fill the room. Their father slinked in, he wasn't as large as Hydrin, but he was bigger than Snek. He strolled pass them as he went up a rather strange flight of stairs to a throne that awaited him at the top. There he coiled and looked down upon the court. "The time has come," he said. "That we decide who shall be king to the Nagas of this land. My sons, there is something you have not been told until now, and this is tradition." His father stated.

"Tradition?" Snek asked. "Father if we have to complete a task to prove ourselves, let me save you the trouble. I have no interest in the throne"

The court fell into whispers. Hydrin said he would not argue Snek's decision on the matter. "If brother wishes to advocate for me to be King, I will not argue."

The king sighed. "It is not that simple, Snek, for one day you may change your mind and wish to challenge your brother. For that this rule was put into place to eliminate such troubles. For what if you have loyal legions Snek who wish to see you on the throne and would harm your brother to do so? Vise versa to you Hydrin. The tradition is this; we decide which one of you is better suited to be King of your people. Those who show the most dedication on the matter depending on actions, knowledge and even alliances, will help us decided. But know this… the one who is not chose, must be devoured by the winner."

"Wait what?!" Snek demanded. "Father! This isn't right! Even I know Hydrin is better suited to be king, and yet I am to be killed for it!" he demanded. Snek turned to his brother. "Please, we cannot do this. I will NEVER seek the throne, banish me if you have to!"

His brother showed no such willingness. "I will do as father says," he said coldly. "As I always have."

They ran down the list of accomplishments of Hydrin, he has led the army for well over 200 years, he has failed only a handful of times and yet he has ensured the safety of not just his men, but that of his people. His hunting and tracking skills are the sharpest in the land, he has made enemies beg for mercy and has shown his strength to those who may threaten the land. He is the strongest among the Nagas, his skills are second to none, and he is the most sought after male among their people.

Snek…

His father turned to Snek. "Your accomplishments are not to be ignored. Thanks to you, we have learned of other nagas, we have been made away of the other creatures and mythical beings and the development of weapons and facilities to make life here far greater. However, my son, is there nothing else you can say in your defense that would show you are a greater asset than your brother?"

He hung his head. "No father." He said.

"What of alliances? Do you have any who could benefit the people in a time of need? Allies? We are aware of your connection to the son of the crimson plague, but is there no other?"

He shook his head. Snek wasn't going to mention Bad at all to his father, if he did and was told to prove it, Bad could very well refuse him. He couldn't drag a kid like that into this.

He turned and saw his brother preparing to do the deed. Snek tried to plead once more, until the throne room door burst open!

The guards stood at the ready, yet all that entered was black smoke.

"What… is this…" his father asked.

He then emerged from the dark fog, as if he had practiced this entrance to make it appear as cool as possible.

Bad!

Snek and the whole court fell forward, bowing to him. His father even came down from his throne to do the same. "King of the Shadows! Even Death welcomes you with open arms!" they called.

"Shit we got to get a new greeting, that isn't exactly cheery to say the least."

They slowly rose again, Bad however went to Snek and picked him up off the floor. "What the hell are you doing down there! Get your ass up!"

Snek slowly rose as his brother began to tremble. "Snek… you know the King of Shadows?"

"Yeah, of course he does!" Bad snapped back. "Snek here is a friend of mine!"

The room fell into dead silence. Even the king was unable to speak.

"Is… this true? You are FRIENDS with him?"

"Of course he is!" Bad said as he spoke on Snek's behalf. "You ain't gonna hurt my friend are you?"

He was more embarrassed than anything, yet before he could speak. Hydrin began to strip off his armor. He tossed it to the floor as he approached Snek and lowered his head. "I am willing to accept my fate brother… Please, do what must be done…"

"No… no I am not going to do it! Father I refuse to eat my own brother for the sake of this!" Snek yelled.

"It is tradition…"

"Tradition?" Bad demanded. "Nah, this is cornering the market on the throne. Look, I'll settle this…" Bad came between the two, his hand kept on Snek's shoulder and he turned to the King. "He's with me, from this moment on. My advisor, so, being that, he cannot possibly take the throne here, that true right?" he asked.

The king stuttered with his words. "I… suppose so, I am in no position to deny you…"

"Excellent. Snek's bro right? What's your name?"

"Hydrin… sir…"

"Yeah, yeah, Hydrin. You take the throne, yet if something happens to ya and you don't got a kid to replace you, I'll let you have your brother back, for now…" Snek was about to speak until he was taken into Bad's shadow!


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

When Snek vanished, Bad brushed his hands of it all, but smiled. Yet the court was stunned to his appearance to say the least. "Shadow King…" Snek's father said. "How do you know my son?"

Bad sighed. "Well, if it weren't for him, I doubt I would be standing here. Long story short, the old King tried to take my body, Snek did everything he could to help me and try to ensure I kept it. The King was too strong though, I had to fight the bastards to regain myself. But he helped me, not just here, but when I was matched with Garou too."

Hydrin was stunned. "My brother… tends to help others out, yet not his own people."

Bad's head cocked to the side oddly. "You sure about that?"

Hydrin's head suddenly bowed. "I am sorry your highness, I didn't mean to speak out of terms!"

'_God, he's like Genos when he gets going in front of Saitama…_' Bad thought. "Nah, no worries. Look, even if he isn't here, it doesn't mean Snek ain't looking out for you guys. You see, he's been ensuring your safety, people… humans like to travel, he has quite the weight in his words to convince those who maybe peering into something too much to back off, or purposely lead them on the wrong path to what they are trying to discover. Oh… that remains me. You heard of a naga named Jima?"

The court fell into whispers. Even the king was stunned. "My brother…"

"Father?"

"Jima and I went to war as young serpents. He went on ahead and led our enemy forces away as he allow his men and I to escape… How do you know of my brother?"

This is where it got awkward for Bad. "He… was offered as a vessel for the former King of the Shadows. Sadly though, he wasn't chosen but taken and absorbed into his legions…"

The king froze as his head hung. "I… Understand."

"You speak Shadow?" Bad asked.

"No… why…"

"Meh, I'll figure something out. Jima, come say hello"

Jima suddenly rose up and out from behind Bad. Snek's father froze as his Hydrin. {My King?}

"You never got the chance to say goodbye, did you?" Bad asked. "I'm offering you this chance… whose got a pen or something to write stuff down with and on?" Bad called.

They searched rather quickly, until the King's scribe appeared with a book and ink. He offered it to Bad who merely held it for Jima. "Say what you want, if I translate it ain't the same. Write it down, let your brother know…"

Bad swore there were tears forming in Jima's eyes, he took the quill and began to write feverishly. He filled pages with words before Bad returned the book. The king was rendered silent to the offering, yet still, he wondered. "Why are you allowing him to do such a thing?"

"I got the opportunity to." Bad stated. "He's helped me in more ways than one. The least I could do, is let him say a proper goodbye to you and those he cared about, right?" Bad wasn't actually expecting to do this, but then he remembered. If the same thing happened to him, he would want a chance to say a proper goodbye to Zenko. Just thinking about that, made his heart hurt a little. Jima froze as he placed his hand on Bad's shoulder.

{My King? Are you harmed?} he asked.

"Nah, emotional…" Bad whispered. "Well… we better go. I'll take good care of your son, Snek… and I promise to treat your brother with great respect. Jima has been a phenomenal help to me."

The king bowed once more as did Hydrin. With that, Bad took to his shadow and vanished into it along with Jima.

They entered the shadow world where Snek was looking about, fascinated. "You changed up the place, before it was like a very crowded chamber room. It, feels open now!"

"I ain't going to make these guys wait in crowded chambers or whatever the hell they were forced into before, that sucks! Nah, they get to stay comfy and make this world what they want it to be to ensure that comfort." Bad decreed.

"Such a gracious King," Jima stated.

"Just being fair," He turned to Snek. "Sorry for stepping in like this, Jima warned me ahead of time what could have happened. I wasn't about to lose a good friend that way!"

Snek nodded. "I am grateful you stepped in, but you got to have a little more class when addressing a royal court!"

"I was classy!" Bad protested. "I worked forever on that entrance. Garou and Zenko thought it was badass."

Bad suddenly got the feeling looking like a badass wasn't exactly royalty proper to say the least. "Well, at least they knew, right?"

"Your aura has something to do with that," Snek muttered.

"Speaking of which…" Bad began to explain that the vampires have come after Garou now that his mother is gone. Apparently she called dibs on Garou to deal with him herself, yet since she failed, the others have come out from the rocks they were hiding. "They have decreed ragnarok or something…"

Snek's face fell to a stun silence. "Ragnarok?" he whispered. "Shit!"

"Yeah… So, before these assholes know what I've become… is there a way to hide it? I mean hide my aura or whatever the hell that is leaking out and leaving me exposed?" he asked.

Snek thought it over and nodded. "I have heard that there is a potion that can render one into a human like state… But for you the best it will do is hide your shadow power and make take them away while the potion is ingested." Snek explained. "We don't know when this challenge will take place, so that's a problem. You want to take the risk? It's a 24 hour potion…"

"I ain't got much to lose, besides, I can bash a few vampires on my own strength thanks." He said defiantly with a hint of annoyance. Just because he became the Shadow King, doesn't mean he wasn't capable when he was a half vampire, let alone a mere human.

"My King…" Jima said. "We must be cautious about this, if we cannot help you…"

"I'll be fine, trust me, if not, I am sure I can hold out until the potion is done. So… how long will that sucker take to make?"

"I need ingredients…"

The room suddenly shifted oddly, the walls changed and then became massive and large shelves full of vials and other concoctions. "Since when the hell did we have this!?" Bad demanded.

"Recent edition by requests of the mages under your authority." Jima explained. "It was a small potions room before, yet has since been expanded. We have everything needed to make what you desire. Snek, help yourself to them."

Even he was impressed to the selection!

He went about and took different vials and ingredients from the shelves, a table appeared out of black smoke and he went to work right away. "Jima, if I drink this, will the dragon still be able to help Zenko if she is in need?" Bad whispered.

"Of course my king, this merely effect your use of power, the dragon has already bounded itself to your sister, even if you were rendered mortal, it will only leave her shadow if ordered by the king, or she dies… which will not happen on his watch, rest assured." Jima explained.

It took Snek no more than twenty minutes to make the potion. He made a few vials that would be about a week's worth. "I suggest you take these early morning, in case the vampires call for this fight at night. If you can, midnight would be the best time to do it." He explained.

Bad nodded as he was about to partake in one. "HOLD IT!" Snek scolded. "You're in the damn shadow realm, you drink that here, you're stuck for twenty four hours, me included, you're my ride!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Earlier.

"Huh?" Garou said in great confusion. Jima explained his request to Bad and asked that he save Snek from a terrible fate. Bad wholeheartedly agreed to the notion, yet Garou thought it over. "If you are going to do this, we better make sure you make an entrances so that everyone knows, you're the real deal!"

"Really? You don't think me showing up will be enough?" Bad asked.

"Nah, you need to display to the nagas without words that 'yeah, I'm the goddamn king of the shadows'!" Garou stated. "Let's head home and work on that before you leave."

Bad was quick to get them home, with Zenko's help they found the perfect entrance he needed to make to save Snek. With a nod, Bad excused himself and vanished into the darkness. Garou sighed aloud. "We can't catch a break kid…" he said to Zenko.

"We were warned earlier about the vampires. What do they want now?" she asked.

"What else? To kill me! Everyone wants the power my father possessed. The thing is, I don't think it's as strong as the others think it is. All it does it make you crave more and more blood. You're never satisfied. That or that's exactly what they want. The ability to keep drinking without fail, to constantly thirst and urge for more…" he paused and looked away as Zenko stared at him with wide eyes.

"No one ever told me that before, I thought all vampires were like that, and your dad was just thirstier than others…"

He shook his head to it all. "There was a rumor my family told me of, I even heard it from the werekin when I was young. They said my father brought this curse upon himself. When he was mortal, he lived on a simple farm with the people. Yet water was scares to say the least, they continued to suffer for it until they pleaded with the king of the land to give them some from the reserves. They were denied. My father was young and determined, he began to raid the reservoir at night. Never for his own greed but that of his people. Women and children were given enough to drink, the next night the men, then any time after he would try and get the livestock the needed drink. He never thought of himself, he always did it for the benefit of the people, however, he neglected his own needs."

Garou paused. "He was caught one night and brought before the king. He was to be made and example of, the king possessed a powerful mage and cursed my father. "You adore the night, now live in it. Never again will your thirst be quenched, live with it for as long as you live…" the mage then smirked. "May you never die a mortal's death… bring about the demon in man, the greed of darkness and forever thirst!"

Zenko froze to the tale as Garou explained. "I thought vampires…"

"There's more than one way to make a vampire a vampire," he explained. "My father was cursed with immortality, when they imprisoned him, he was so thirsty he drained his cellmates of blood. Then, he found the strength it allowed him to tear off the metal bars. He went from cell to cell draining the people dry, when the guards came. He drank them too. When he escaped, he summoned his blood drain ability, he could give a human a small nick on their skin, if he could hear their heartbeat he could cut them… it was the whole kingdom that suffered. He drained them in a single night, but still, he was thirsty."

"He got really strong because of that?" she whispered.

Garou nodded. "He could only grow stronger as the strength he took that night became his own, even the power of the animals he drained dry allowed him to grow stronger. I never did know how long my father lived for, but he endured in isolation for years, until he met mother. Perhaps she was the first person to not fear him, that or it was the first moment of affection he was given since the transformation. Either way, somehow his blood craving calmed. I tend to think father worked on his will power to try and curb his feeding. Yet now, vampires want this. They want the quickest and easiest way to grow in power, what better way than to do what they do best, drink blood."

Garou was startled as her hand slipped over top of his, she held it to comfort him. For some reason, it made him smile. "I see now why you needed my brother… but if your dad was cursed, how did he learn about finding a person whose blood would keep it at bay?"

Not even Garou knew at the time, perhaps it was during his travels or when he began to talk to the other vampires when it came out. Either way, he was glad his father told him of it. "I wish I knew, but I cannot tell you how grateful I am to Bad. Even now, I don't have to drink that often, I even find myself drinking less too."

She nodded her head. "Just as long as you keep your promise to me, you won't harm him and now I ask of you to help him. He's something different now, but he is still my big brother!"

Garou crossed his heart to her. "I promise," he said. The smile soon vanished. "Now, we just have to keep him hidden for the time being, he has yet to learn how to control his aura around himself. It's like a dense fog… no offence, he is a little dense too!"

Zenko pouted. "Even so, but his heart is far bigger!" she protested.

He snickered. "There's no denying that…" He sighed aloud. Bad was gone for some time before he returned again.

Him appearing out of nowhere was starting to freak Garou out! "Shit man, put a bell on or something!" Garou protested.

Bad smirked. "You never did, and if I did wear a bell, you would be wondering where the hell is that bell sound coming from!"

As Bad relaxed and his shadow king form faded away, he looked at Garou oddly. "I got something that will hide my power for the time being, it works for 24 hours, but I can't summon my shadows or use darkness…" he explained and showed off the seven vials of potion in his hands.

"You sure about this?" Zenko asked. "I mean, couldn't we just work with Bad on hiding his strength?"

"Too little time and if it somehow spikes during a session, we're screwed. At the moment, the potion is what's best." Garou explained. "And we might want to hurry, I've been sensing scouts for the past hour."

With a nod, Bad turned to the clock. "Meh, close enough." And downed his first bottle.

His face soured. "Yeesh! Tastes awful!" Yet it was noticeable. Garou didn't sense any of his Shadow King power the least bit.

Garou did a quick walk around of him, even tasting his blood and taking in his scent. "You smell like you did before the Shadow King took you, even the flavor of your blood has converted back… that's some powerful shit!"

"Yeah, well I got to take this every 24 hours to hide the Shadow King's power. Zenko, you still have the dragon with you, the others have promised to only call upon me if it is urgent." Bad explained.

"How do you feel big Brother?" Zenko asked.

He appeared a little conflicted. "It feels good, but at the same time… I also feel naked now… I mean, I can kick anyone's ass, that's a given, yet, with the Shadows… I felt unstoppable"

"No shit…" muttered Garou. He crossed his arms and sighed. "We need to keep a close eye on this, despite the no contact rule in ragnarok, it doesn't mean the elders will play fair, besides. Just because vampires can't attack, doesn't mean their underlings are unable to. You know, familiars, slave creatures… all that fun stuff…"

"Bring them on!" Bad announced with great pride. "I take down monsters, this will be nothing!"

"Yeah well, remember, monsters run wild. Underlings are trained!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The council of the gods.

Once more Saitama was pulled into another boring meeting as they discussed a punishment for Pig God. "Pig God, as it stands you have personally altered the balance of power within this world. The death of the shadow king and the rise of a new one." Child Emperor announced. "What say you to this?"

He nodded. "I accept that I am responsible for these actions. I didn't intend on this power shifting to one Metal Bat at all. Yet, it has been done."

"Question remains, what do we do with Metal Bat?" Child Emperor asked.

"I say let him learn his power and strength," said Saitama in his typical board voice. "In the time he has been shadow king, he has not done any harm to the human world. He has changed the shadow world for the better, his legions are die hard loyal to him and there is a new council in place, so there is no corruption."

The room came to an eerie pause. "Uh… how do you know that?" King asked.

Saitama crossed his arms. "Well, I know of all plots and plans for massive destruction ahead of time, it's my thing isn't it? The Shadow King purposely got involved in the vampire war with Garou hoping he would be killed, then, the power of the Crimson Plague would go to him. He was going to kill everyone on that battle field, harvest their souls and use them in all out war against the human world." He said offhandedly. "He's been building his legions just for that and was on the verge of starting his plan."

No one said a word, yet all eyes suddenly shifted to Pig God. "You knew this too?" Child Emperor asked.

"Acts of greed are made known to me." He said. "But I insist on the notion, I never intended for Bad to become the new Shadow King. He must have picked up Garou's abilities to learn something new when he has seen it. He witnessed the King absorb the strength of others and adapted himself." He explained. "Be that as it may, I agree with Saitama. He has not done any harm to the mortal world. He has slayed monsters as he has always done, he is not lusting for more power or strength. In fact, I have been told, this scares him greatly. He doesn't quite know what he has become, and yet, he is not allowing this power to go to his head."

"I… agree on that," said King. "However, are we also just playing stupid here? What if he gets a liking for this strength? Is he aware of what he can do? So far he has merely scratched the surface of his potential."

"King is right…" Child Emperor decreed. "So, what's to be done?"

"Training of course." Pig God stated. "I will help him adjust to his growing power, it must be done if not, he may have difficulty later with it. But I ask of you, trust in Bad. He has heart that the previous Shadow King did not."

The table nodded in agreement. "We all know Bad, when he was mortal, even as a half vampire he has stayed the same. I have seen too often when one is turned even into a Halfling, the power goes straight to their heads." Child Emperor said. "Bad isn't the smartest, but he heart is always in the right place."

"Are we nearly done here? There's a sale today I got to get to," Saitama stated in his usual board tone.

"If you don't like these meetings then why do you keep coming?" King asked.

"The tea is better than what I got at home…"

Pig God stared about the table. "My punishment… has it been decided yet?" he asked.

Looks were exchanged among the others, Saitama however offered his two cents on the matter. "How about this, we wait and see what happens. There's no point in punishing him if he hasn't done anything wrong. Bad isn't going mad with power, if he slips up, let's judge him on that." he said.

"You know, for someone who doesn't want to be here, you have some of the best perception on things!" Child Emperor announced.

Saitama shrugged. "Again, I'm in it for the tea…"

#

Zenko was having a normal day at school, well, as normal as it gets.

It was recess time when she was out playing with her friends, yet suddenly, the monster warning system went off. The sirens wailed as they called out. "Attention, attention, level demon threat in the area. Please evacuate, repeat, level Demon…"

The students froze as they felt the ground shaking below their feet. The tremors only grew as many of the children were suddenly falling to the ground hard, no one could keep their balance as a massive monster began to make its way towards them!

Screams and panic filled the air, the monster crushed cars under its feet as it slammed itself into the buildings to cause unnecessary destruction. Then, it began to lick its lips towards the school.

"RUN ZENKO RUN!" one of the boys called. She tried to get to her feet, yet as she did, the monster approached and she felt the ground shake below her once more. She couldn't keep herself up!

The other students were quick to rush into the school, but Zenko wasn't fast enough as it went quickly into lock down. The Monster was eyeing her and grinned as it drooled. She stumbled back, yet before it could get any closer, it appeared!

A massive limb came down before her, blocking her view from the monster. Even the monster itself froze at the sight, standing as its equal, was a massive dragon that appeared to be made of black smoke! It laughed at first to the dragon, perhaps thinking it was a cheep trick and couldn't do anything.

Then it started to grow.

Bigger and bigger until it towered over the monster, instantly it stopped laughing, panic came over its face when suddenly the dragon lurched forwards.

CHOMP

One snap of its jaws and the monster vanished. As quickly as it appeared, the dragon shrunk down and vanished into the shadows. Zenko was still on the ground, stunned to what she just saw. "Whoa… that was cool!" she said.

The call went out to the sudden defeat of the monster, the children came back outside but all of them were staring at her oddly. "What was that!?" one boy asked.

She played dumb to it all. "I dunno!" she said. "One moment there's one monster, than there's another and it ate the other one… then vanished!" she said. "It's weird isn't it?"

"How could something that big disappear!?" one girl asked.

Even the teachers were perplexed to what just happened before their eyes. Zenko however knew she had to tell Bad that the dragon did an excellent job in protecting her.

Now, she needs to think of a great name to call it!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

SMASH

BASH

CRACK

"You assholes ain't so tough!"

It was barely a day already, and the legions have sent their minions out in full force. Bad was contending with underlings from the vampires who declared Ragnarok, or whatever in his mind. So far today he has beaten down six tiger threat monsters, four shape shifters, three demon like creatures and one really rabid wolf. Just recently he got some good batting practice in with the bats they just sent out. They lay dead on the streets as he sighed aloud to it all. "Sons of bitches aren't going to let up."

He turned to leave when he began to sense something. A moment of pause came over Bad as he peered to the alleyway. The pulse it gave out was one he couldn't mistaken, an elder vampire. "What do you want asshole?" he demanded. "You think I won't beat you down!" he warned.

The elder kept to the shadows, apparently the sun bothers him greatly, yet he merely smirked to Bad. "I am looking forward to making you my minion." He said with a twisted grin.

Bad laughed it off. "Keep dreaming asshole,"

"Oh? But you should know something… should Garou lose and you lose, not only are your lives forfeited, but all those connected to you as well. Rumor has it, you have a sweet little sister…"

Bad felt his anger spike. "You shut your face!" he warned. "Don't you DARE mention harming my sister in front of me… rest assured man, I'll kick your ass!"

The elder smirked. "Really? A Halfling such as yourself stands a chance against the likes of me? You don't know this, but I am not even the elder of one of the many covens you will be battling soon enough!" he said with a smirk.

Bad paused. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"Garou, has signed a contract. We will do battle with the elders and their strongest men… however, the contract was very loose, Garou never specified how many an elder can bring with them to battle now did he?"

"Why the hell are you telling me this?" he demanded.

The vampire merely shrugged. "My own personal amusement perhaps? But also curious to see how well you will fight now, knowing this kind of pressure is on your shoulders. Would you rather die before the war, or will you fight a losing battle?" with that, the vampire vanished.

Bad sneered to it all as he was quick to take out his cellphone. "Garou… Bad… We got to talk… NOW!"

#

They met at the spar room of the Heroes Association.

Bad walked in and found Garou standing there with Flash and Pig God. "What the hell did you sign!" Bad demanded. "An elder confronted me today, stating he ain't the oldest one of his coven and yet, he's going to be fighting in this war. The bastard was older than you!"

Garou nodded. "That was terrible oversight on my part…" he muttered. "I just realized it now, the elders that confronted me… weren't the elders of the coven… they were fifth and sixth in command of it, mere messengers to say the least, but signed the contract on behalf of their elder."

"So, what does that mean?" Bad demanded. "What are we up against?"

"Ten covens," said Flash. "Each one has 100 underlings, ready for war such as this. Many of them come from the elder's blood themselves. We will be facing 10,000 of them."

Bad paused for a moment. "Considering the army we just smackdown a few weeks ago, that doesn't sound like a lot." He muttered.

"What we don't know is when they will call for the confrontation to take place." Pig God said. "If they call for war after you have taken the potion, you are in great danger. These elders are not to be under estimated, they are very capable, and some are stronger than Garou himself."

Bad turned to Garou who merely nodded his head. "I should have thought this through better."

"So… what do we do?" Bad asked. "I can't let them see me other than what I am right now. I can't control this… aura you guys keep yapping about."

"That so call aura you speak of is enough to send the vampires running for the hills to regroup and then come at us with everything they have!" protested Flash. "Sometimes I agree with Tatsumaki, you cannot be THIS dense to say the least."

Bad sneered at him. "Sorry, maybe you ought to try fighting off the Shadow King when he takes over your body!" he snapped back.

"Enough, both of you" scolded Pig God. "Bad, with me, we are going to train."

"Huh?" he said with disbelief. "Uh… no offense, I've never seen you train before. Let alone at all… or anything"

He felt a hard shove come from behind him, Garou pushed him forward and muttered. "How do you think he hides his own aura when he himself is a god?" he whispered.

"Oh…" Bad said in realization.

#

He watched as Garou and Flash walk out of the room, leaving Bad alone with Pig God. He approached him oddly, when he placed a single hand on Bad's shoulders. His stomach churned and he was suddenly ill! Bad threw up but it was nothing more than the potion he took! Clearing the bile from his lip he turned to Pig God who merely smiled. "Another talent I don't tend to show often. Now you can call upon your shadow powers." He explained.

Bad nodded meekly, he merely stood there but already his body began to let off wisps of black smoke. "Garou told me… what I was… What I became…" he said.

Pig God looked to him oddly. "Oh?" he asked with great curiosity. "And?"

Bad appeared nervous. "Soul eater… am… am I going to have to feed off of souls to survive?" he asked meekly. "If I do… I don't know if I would want to."

There came a smile on the face of the large S Class hero, he then chuckled aloud. "Even in darkness your heart shines the brightest Bad. You worry not about that. The Shadow King does consume shadows for his own power, however it is not necessary to survive. The ones you took, only cemented your standing as King of the Shadows, and allowing you passage into both the human and shadow world." He explained. "Impressively enough, you managed to take down the council before they could try and manipulate you. A smart move if I do say so."

"Pppff! Those assholes tried to pawn off the guys I was trapped with when the Shadow King tried to make me into his vessel or whatever. I got to talking with Jima and learned the situation through him. Like hell I would let those assholes take command of me or tell me what to do! They started this shit show to begin with!" he protested. "But still, what happens if I eat shadows? I mean, will it do something to me?"

Pig God appeared to think over the question. "It will depend on what you have consumed. Different shadows will do different things, but I doubt it would affect you much at all. You will grow stronger, certainly, your power will grow greater as well. Physical change… that I am not sure of. However, keep in mind. This has never happened before."

"Great… so… about this aura thing… how can you help me with this?" he asked.

The smile came back on his face. Pig God then said. "Let me show you something. Right now, I am hiding my aura. I am about to unleash it. This room is sealed off to the world, and will contain my power, I will only be showing you this just long enough for me to demonstrate. Pay attention."

Bad nodded as he watched Pig God's eyes closed. Suddenly, the room began to feel dense, very, very dense. Bad was brought to his knees as the air suddenly became thick, nearly unbreathable! The walls cracked a little, the ground as well! As quickly as it started, the room returned to normal. Bad gasped for air as he stared at the massive man before him who once more gave a meek smile.

"What… the… hell!"

"My aura. Yours has a similar effect, however you have yet to truly unleash it. You have some of it contained, but you need to ensure the rest is. It will prevent those from knowing your true strength who shouldn't be aware of it."

"Where do we start?" Bad demanded.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

He had to let off some steam.

Garou went to another spar room at the far end of the hall. Flash was more than willing to assist him in the matter. For a full hour, they went all out against each other!

Garou was faster than Flash, he could strike harder and recover far more quickly from a strike before the S Class hero could. Yet when they finished, he was panting a little. Flash however appeared a little concerned. "You haven't been fighting the same." He announced.

His words were confusing. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "I always fight like this… did I get weaker?"

"No," Flash stated. "You have gotten stronger, yet, your strength behind the strike isn't the same as it usually is. You're distracted, as well as burdened."

He sighed aloud. "It's this damn thing with the covens… I should have phrased everything far better than what I intended. Now… we're going up against perhaps 10,000 vampires, all wanting to take Bad and I out! What the hell was I thinking!?"

Flash merely smirked for a moment. "Perhaps you are depending too much on Bad's strength than your own."

"What…" Garou growled. "I have always fought my own battles!" he protested.

"Indeed, but now, you have Bad and his sister to be concerned about. You are distracted when we sparred just now. Normally, you have a clear vision on how you will obtain your victory. But even I can tell, you are thinking of him, worried about him and what has yet to come or occur. You are also worried about what Pig God is teaching him…"

Garou sighed. "Shit," he muttered. "How can you have pegged all of that?!" he demanded.

"I am your bodyguard, I notice these things."

"What are we going to do?" he asked. "Flash, this is a big deal, this battle with the vampires… I know that it will set off a chain reaction too…"

Flash nodded in agreement. "When an elder falls in battle and depending on how many of his own men who die, it will send a signal to the surviving covens, that one of them has gone weak and will attempt to absorb or eliminate them. At the same time, if they lose too many members, they will go out and make more vampires…"

"Either way, it's a loss for us."

"Pity there wasn't a way to use this to our advantage to say the least. You would need to make a treaty of sorts wouldn't you?"

Garou smirked. "Yeah, a vampire treaty, that hasn't happened in what? A few thousand years?"

"The treaty of the plague." Flash said as he recalled. "Those under it vowed to never attack the Crimson Plague or his family when he is in power. Those who do attack are to accept their fates without assistance or any sense of judgment towards the Plague's actions…"

"Too bad that didn't pass down from father to son…"

Flash sighed. "You keep forgetting, Garou. You are not the Crimson Plague. Unlike your father, you have done everything you could to prevent yourself from becoming him, including taking an obscene amount of lives for the same of temporary quenching your thirst."

Garou nodded, yet appeared disappointed. "Had I, I probably would have surpassed the old man by now." He said. "Now… I maybe strong naturally, but against elder vampires… I am nothing but a mere upstart."

Flash was about to speak, when the walls of the spar room trembled! The ground shook and the light began to burst! "What the hell!" Flash announced.

They rushed out of the spar room and felt the unbelievable power, it was for but a moment, before it vanished. Garou however felt his heart racing, it wasn't before, but now, he gasped for air as his hand clamped down over his rapidly beating heart. "It's Bad!" he said.

#

It was Pig God's order.

Bad was a little nervous as he was told to unleash his full power. "Uh… Okay… I haven't really done this before though." Bad said.

"It's the same as when you fight, when you make yourself stronger!" Pig God protested.

"OH! Okay!... Hit me!"

Pig God paused. "What?"

"Hit me! My fighting spirit kicks in when I get knocked around a few times. So, hit me!" he said again as the smile on his face grew.

"I am not the one…"

"Oh wait, that's right! Hey! Bloodbore is it? Can you help me for a moment?"

The shadow materialized. He bowed before Bad. "Yes my King?" he questioned.

"I need you to knock me around for a bit to get my power going."

The vampire shadow paused. "My King?" he asked with great confusion.

"Don't use your full strength or anything, just get me going, and work up a sweat you know? How about it?"

The shadow was hesitant, yet he was quickly retracted and replaced.

Sonic emerged.

"Allow me the honor, my King… if it is to aid you, I will do as you wish."

"Sure whatever!"

Pig God however was a little leery. "Bad… do you know this one?"

"Yeah, Sonic and I go back to the old King who wanted to take control. Sonic was to guard me until the King decided on a body. Then, he fought the others off to earn the right to be the bodyguard to the King and his new form or whatever."

Sonic merely smirked as he gave a small bow to Pig God. "I suggest you move away, I work fast…"

"Okay, now, get…"

PUNCH!

Bad felt it, he blinked and missed the strike all together! He stumbled back as his cheek pulsed with pain, "Damn that was…"

BASH

He was hit harder, this time he was thrown back and off his feet! Bad didn't have time to say anything, Sonic came at him hard and fast! The strikes were precise to say the least! They grew stronger and stronger with each blow, Bad barely blocked any of them but endured the onslaught!

Then, it was the punch that triggered it all, he was hit hard across the face, his head turned to the side yet he didn't fall. A blank look came over his eyes as suddenly, the power began to ooze out.

"That's it my King, you are nearly there. One more strike!" Sonic cheered.

He went in for the final blow, but this time, the hand was caught! Sonic managed to pry himself out and attempted to go behind him, perhaps a kick this time, but that too was avoided and blocked with ease. "Is he seeing my movements now?" Sonic asked aloud.

He tried to go faster, hit harder, but it wasn't enough. Each attempt was blocked, dodged or even repelled. But still. The power in Bad began growing and ooze out. Sonic then went for his ultimate move. Ten fold funeral!

He created so many body doubles of himself, one couldn't tell which was really him. In this, he was able to land one more solid blow to Bad's stomach. That one strike, unleashed everything!

The lights of the room burst, the ground shook and trembled as darkness enveloped the room! The pressure around them grew, to the point Sonic couldn't stand on his feet, he could barely breathe!

Pig God merely watched on and partook in snacks as Bad began to unleash his power. Yet even that lone display only proved one thing. "He is still holding back," Pig God muttered.

He used his own aura to calm the raging shadow power. Bad's eyes suddenly rolled back as he nearly collapsed to the floor. Yet before he could hit it, Garou rushed in and caught him. "BAD!" he called.

He was out cold.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Meanwhile…

Zombieman decided to try it.

He has gone as far as he could from the Heroes association, rented out a dark hotel room and turned out all the lights. From there, he toyed with the small vial given to him, the power to allow him to walk through the shadows. "Hm, might as well. It's not like this is gonna kill me or anything." He said to himself.

The cork popped right off, from there he did a nervous swallow of his saliva before taking in the contents. It felt like an ice-cold chill drifting down his throat and into his core. The moment he gave a gulp, he felt the chill spread throughout his body. His hands and feet felt cold, his body shuttered. Zombieman clenched his eyes tight as he endured the sudden chill. When it ended, he opened them again, yet found his room oddly lit.

"Huh? I didn't turn the lights on…"

Double checking the light source, he nearly blinded himself for a moment as he turned on a lamp! Quickly it was turned off again and yet the room still felt as if it were properly lit. "Side effect?" he wondered. But now, he has to test his theory.

Walking through the shadows!

Taking out a pad of paper and a pen, he wrote down the date, time and location before tucking it all back into his pocket. He stared at the darkest corner of the room and sighed. "Here goes nothing…" he approached and then…

BAM

He fell back, failing his first attempt!

"Damn it!" he cursed. Taking the paper out once more he made note, first attempt fail.

So he sat on the bed and thought it over. "It's dark enough, that's not the problem… perhaps… perhaps I need to think of where I want to go…" he said. He made note before once more tucking his memo pad into his pocket. Staring at the shadowy corner he thought of a place. "Underground tunnel of the house of evolution." The moment he began to think it he approached the shadow. A part of him was expecting to hit the wall once more like a fool, but this time, he walked right into the darkness, and ended up in the abandoned tunnel of the house of evolution!

He froze to the discovery. "Okay, that's the key…" he was about to write something down, when he paused. He heard something up ahead.

Voices were growing louder and louder until he managed to get close enough to hear what was said. "It won't be long now, the war ahead and we will finally take the power of the Crimson Plague!"

"About damn time, the boy has wasted the potential!"

"Is everything prepared and set? The battle ground?"

"Fortified and ready."

"The contract?"

"Iron tight! Elder, you and 100 of our strongest will face the son of the plague! That match of his will be nothing more than fodder!"

"Very good. I cannot wait and see what the elders wish to do with him. He will gain Garou's power and for that, we will feed from him! He will retain his prolific blood production abilities as long as he is fed, but he will become a full vampire…"

"It's better to kill him anyways! Besides, he has a sister…"

"Ah yes, the little one! She will be a fine edition to our coven wouldn't you say? Such a sweet little thing, a simple snack night after night to take before going to sleep. I cannot wait to sink my fangs into her tender flesh!"

Zombieman heard enough. He has to warn Garou!

He turned and yet came face to face with the vampires lingering behind him! He didn't even hear them! "Well look who it is, Class S Zombieman is it?"

He only smirked for a moment. "You caught me, so… what are you going to do?" he asked. He casually reached into his jacket and took out a smoke. "Quite frankly, I don't really give a damn, it's not like you're going to kill me or anything."

"We haven't tried yet!"

"Yeah, well, I wish you luck on that, in the mean time…" He reached into his jacket, he was quick to whip out a gun and fire blindly into the masses. With that, he turned and made a run for it before the vampires could recover. The halls were slightly lit the more he ran down them, he has to find one with enough darkness to vanish into! Yet, each twist and turn he took, the vampires gathered. They were cornering him in before long.

"We're going to rip you apart!"

"Feed off of your blood!"

"Feed you to our legions!"

He kept calm throughout it all, when an idea hit him. "Yeah, I'm gonna tell you now, it won't work. I taste terrible, I regenerate and my blood is vile according to the last vampire that tried to feed from me… I will say this though. I'm surprised the lighting system lasted this long here…"

The shot had to be perfect, he was nearly out of bullets when he took aim at the overhead wire. One shot he managed to sever the overhead wires. The darkness returned and he envisioned his hotel room.

Zombieman dropped, granted, he wished he landed in something more practical than the bathtub but beggars can't be choosers at the moment!

"Shit" he said to himself as he pried out of the tub. "This thing is handy but a pain in the ass all at once"

As he walked out of the bathroom, he froze to a presence in his room. "Hello?" he said awkwardly.

There was something sitting on the corner of his bed, it possessed a human figure and yet, it appeared rather concerned and confused. "Z? I need to speak with you."

"Uh… huh…" he said awkwardly.

The shadow stood. "I am Bloodbore, representative of the vampires under the King's shadows. I just came to speak with you about what is about to happen. You must have seen by now the situation they are in, I wish to offer my services as best as I can."

Zombieman nodded. "Let's talk. What do you know?"

The look of concern didn't vanish from his face as he turned away rather oddly. "First off, I just came from my King's command, he wished for me to beat him up. I refused to do such a thing, yet Sonic obliged, what is my King doing?" he asked.

"Beats the hell out of me, unless he was working with another hero… was anyone else with him?" he asked.

"A god,"

"Pig God then… Pig God I know is attempting to help Bad hide his aura without potion. Yet…" he took a moment to think it over. "Unless he had to let Bad unleash his full potential… You need to know something about your 'King'" Zombieman stated. "He has something called a 'fighting spirit' the more damage he takes, the stronger he gets. Perhaps the reason for wanting someone to beat him, was to increase his power, it may affect his shadow power as well."

Bloodbore nodded to the notion. "Then I should have assisted the King… I hesitated and then refused out of fear of harming him greatly…"

Zombieman smirked. "It's nice of you to consider that, but no need to worry, Bad can take a hit needless to say…"

Bloodbore suddenly went silent oddly, he stared off into the distance before snapping to his feet. "My King…" he whispered and then vanished.

Zombieman shrugged his shoulders to it all, he decided to step out of the motel and take his smoke outside. Yet just as he lit his cigarette, his phone went off. "Yeah?" he asked.

"Zombieman… can you get to the Shadow realm as fast as you can… we had an incident with Bad."

"Flash… everyone okay?"

He was oddly silent. "I… don't know," he confessed.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

His head rolled about.

Bad was doing everything he could to wake himself up again, but his eyes refused to open. "Bad? Bad? Can you hear me?"

"Shut the hell up man, I'm trying to wake up on my own…" he moaned.

Slowly, his eyes opened again. Bad was on his back, lying in a bed that wasn't his own, but he felt oddly comfortable. "Where am I?"

He looked about the room but found only darkness. "Shadow realm eh?" he muttered. "No one bothered with the lights huh? Thanks… my head is killing me."

Garou appeared to have let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thank God you woke up! I was worried!" he protested.

"Huh?"

"He doesn't remember." Came the voice of Pig God. He towered on the other side of the bed. "Bad… do you remember anything that happened?"

He thought it over, the last thing he could recall was getting struck hard across the face, but that was about it. "I was knocked out, that was certain, but other than that…"

Pig God sighed. "This is far more difficult than I anticipated…"

"What happened? What were we doing?" he asked.

Pig God was serious as he said. "We tried to unleash your power over the Shadows in hopes of better understanding the aura you emit. I know for a fact that what you unleash without the potion is enough to make other take notice of you, however, I never realized how much you were truly holding back. I thought if we understood better how much power you contained, we could do a better job at restricting what is released and made known…" he suddenly trailed off.

"And?" Bad asked.

No one spoke, his sights turned to Garou who was still silent on the matter at hand. "The power you emitted is beyond self containing." Flash said rather blatantly. "Garou and I felt it in our own spar room. We just barely felt Pig God's aura when he was demonstrating, yet when you unleashed yours… it affected everything. Such power…" he said as he too trailed off in though.

"So… what does it mean?" Bad asked, he was getting nervous now as to what this was all leading to.

"The power of the Shadow King… has been greatly underestimated for years." Pig God stated. "We knew he was powerful, but never anticipated this. I am grateful now more than ever that you have become the King of Shadows… But now I fear for you more than ever. There is no record that we have or know of that has dictated or recorded the King's power when he has a physical form. We know in his pervious state, he is limited to the darkness. Unable to touch light or even be in its presence. Yet, with a body, he is able to resist the light and able to walk in it freely."

Bad merely nodded his head, still under certain as to where this was all going. "Yeah… so…" he said.

Garou sighed aloud. "Snek has been making notes about you ever since you became the King, and has compared them to previous histories of the King of the Shadows… the strange thing is this. In the light, the Shadow King's power is cut in half even more so since he is not in his element. However, ever since you have taken possession of it, there has been no indication that your strength has weakened in the light."

"Okay…" Bad said nervously. "Even so, does it mean I am in danger?... am I putting people in danger?" he asked with concern.

"It means we have no idea what is going to happen next." Pig God explained. "We are going to have to watch you very closely. After your incident, your shadow minions were quick to grab hold of Garou as he caught you and bring you into the shadow realm. We are here now because of them. In this world you appear to recover a lot faster than you would on the human world. It will also contain your aura from outsiders to say the least. Perhaps they became aware of what you were trying to do, and did this out of protection."

"Whoever did that… thanks you" Bad said.

"My King…" he emerged from the depths of the darkness. Sonic stood and humbly lowered his head. "I apologize for my actions. I went too far…"

"Nah, I was the one that said beat me, you obliged!" he said and waved off the apology. "But from now on, until I know what's going on and this thing is over with Garou and the vampires… I'll be taking the potions."

"Wise choice," Flash announced. "We must get training again Garou, you as well Bad if you are going to be rendered in your Halfling state to say the least."

Bad reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure… whatever…" he muttered and fell back onto the bed. "Why the hell is this so comfortable?" he asked.

"My King, why wouldn't it be?" Sonic questioned. "You yourself declared that the shadow realm can be made to ensure the comfort of those within, that very much includes yourself!"

"Oh… yeah…" he said, still, everything was almost too perfect. Bad sat back up and got out of the bed, the moment he stood, it vanished out from under him. "Garou… when are the vampires coming? Do we know?" he asked.

"I got an idea…"

Every head turned as Zombieman appeared out of nowhere. "Stumbled across a coven just a moment ago. I was testing a new ability given to me by the council. There is one coven hiding out in the old house of Evolution underground. Apparently they have found many loop holes in the blood contract they all signed."

Garou appeared to cringe at the news. "I should have thought this over better…" he muttered.

"No point in calling yourself a dumbass when I can do it for you!" Bad snapped back, but he got a smirk out of Garou.

"Takes one to know one" he replied.

"Anyway…" Zombieman said in an annoyed tone. "They are exploiting loopholes in the contract, I have no doubt they are going to use everything to their advantage and ensure the odds are against you. Question is… what are you going to do about it?"

Garou sighed as he began to think things over once more. His arms crossed, as he appeared to go into his stubborn phase. "Despite how it looks, I can take on those vampires myself. There is no need for anyone else to get involved." He insisted.

"Yeah… sure…" Bad stated defiantly. "Like hell you are going to do this alone! I'm going with you. With or without my shadow powers or whatever the hell they are!"

"You will not go into battle alone, I refuse it." Flash stated.

"Could it be possible for the three of you to handle at least ten thousand vampires?" Zombieman asked with a rather annoyed tone. "Granted, I don't want heroes getting roped into this like the last time, I want to avoid that kind of unnecessary bloodshed."

"Easily." Garou protested. "Look, I feel different, granted, but I am still one of the strongest vampires in the world, am I not?!" he demanded.

The silence around him did not benefit him the least bit. "You've changed drastically." Pig God announced. "As we have discovered and explained before, you father's power grew due to the amount of blood he took from his victims. It didn't matter who or what he took from but it added to his strength. The thing is, I've begun to feel something different about you Garou. You still have that aura of your father… but it is shifted, since something far stronger is influencing you." Pig God's eyes came to Bad.

"Why the hell are you staring at me for? He only drinks from me on occasion now." He protested.

"Yet when Amai Mask drank from you, he was rendered human." Said Zombieman.

Bad froze.

Garou froze.

"Wait… Bad's making me… weaker?" he asked.

"Unintentionally." Pig God stated. "His power has grown greater than your own, remember how before when we tried to cement the bond between you two so he could obtain your abilities when need be?" he asked. A slow nod came from the human monster. "Now, it's reversed. Bad's powers are greater than your own, now your body is trying to adjust to his strength, so you can access them. However, it isn't simple to do. Considering your father's power and Bad's power are now conflicting within you."

Bad blinked oddly a few times. "Wait, wait, wait… I'm STRONGER than him?" he asked with a smirk.

"You're the goddamn shadow king, yeah!" protested Zombieman. "Vampires gain their abilities over darkness through PERMISSION from the King, it's not automatically given"

"So… could I give Garou more power?" he asked with a small smirk.

"When you can control it, at the moment, you are like a powder keg waiting to go off. You have no discipline or control over yourself." Muttered Flash.

"We need to plan this, ragnarok will come if we are ready or not." Stated Garou. "Whatever we have to do to survive, let's do it!"

"In that case, we need to ensure the vampires don't know of Bad's true strength…" said Pig God.

"But doesn't it matter anymore?" Bad questioned. "They signed the damn contract! So, what if they know?"

"If they know that's the case, they will have time to research and learn of different ways to kill you. Just because you have gotten all powerful, doesn't mean there isn't a way to end your life." Warned Zombieman.

"Son of a bitch!" cursed Bad.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Did you find it?"

"Indeed, he dropped this one in his latest battled against the minions."

The vampire coven hidden within the old remains of City Z inspected the vile. It was taken off of Metal Bat during their last fight. The elder peered into the glass and swashed around the contents rather oddly. "Hmmm, I wonder what this does…" he thought aloud.

Curious, he popped the cork and sniffed it. "Ugh! Vile thing that is!" he protested. "It must be an strengthening agent. I know the bond of Garou is nothing to sneeze at, yet compared to him, it must be used to have him keep up with him no doubt."

"Would elder drink it?" one of his underlings asked.

He shook his head. "No, there's something odd about this. This was made for the match in particular… and by a skilled Naga no less. Curiouser and curiouser…" he said.

"Does it matter if the bond is strengthened?"

The elder smirked. "Of course not! One forgets the true power of the plague. Consistent hunger for blood, feeding consistently and never satisfied. Garou has done no such act worthy of his father. He has been resisting this power ever since obtaining it. What a shame, if he indulged himself, he could have stood a chance against us. But the numbers will work against him no less. We will simply tire them out and then overwhelm them!"

The vampires licked their lips with greedy intentions. "What will be done? How do we share the spoils?"

"Oh it's first come, first serve to say the least. The one who gets Garou to bleed is entitled to the blood that exits the wound. The bond however will be far trickier. His blood will be rather particular, however if Garou is killed, he will gain his strength, we would have to kill him shortly after."

"What of the girl? We all know of the seer."

The elder smiled. "I have already bought her. I paid off the other elders for the child. Her eyes… will be of great use to me. Better still, I think I will let this one grow up a little more, and make her my bride… but then again… why wait?"

#

"What was that thing?"

"He entered unnoticed and escaped without a sound!"

The vampires that confronted Zombieman in the ruins of the House of Evolution were trying to understand what just befell them. All have heard of the S class hero, and yet they didn't know of his skills with darkness. They spoke to their elder of the situation however he merely blow off their concern. "He is of no threat, despite the fact he maybe impossible to kill, he learned nothing from us. I doubt he will have trouble with him again…"

"But… elder… he used the shadows." One chimed.

This got his interest. "Did he now?" he asked with curiosity. "How?"

"As we said, he came in without making a sound, no one picked up on his scent until he walked from the darkness. Then, we ran after him, but he knew to sever the lights above himself. When we attacked… he was already gone!"

"Shadows? Perhaps the Shadow King has found a minion on the mortal plain." He muttered to himself. "Didn't Demona herself try to gain favor of the Shadow King recently? I know she made quite the offering… She even went as far as flooding him with vessels, including a powerful Naga warrior that had been held prisoner for years by an enemy forces…"

"She has, but there has been no sigh of the King since. Some say he refused her offerings. Others claim he accepted that and nearly half her army!"

"Let's find out about this. Let's summon a shadow to this room and see what is going on. Make certain it's a councilman!"

The vampires worked feverishly, marking up the floor with a summoning symbol. Of course they could try to go to the shadow realm themselves, however there is no guarantee they would return. Instead, they opted with the lesser of the two.

They drew it all out in pure white chalk, then, the elder offered his blood on each point of the pentagram. "Bring forth a council member to the Shadow King, bring him to me now!" he called.

The chalk lit up, then blue fire erupted!

The fire took form as it became a face and various parts of the shadow creature, but its body appeared to be made from black mist. He stood rather proudly, and familiar in a sense, the elder then froze to the face of it. "Can it be…" he whispered. "Bloodbore?!"

The vampire shadow did a small bow. "Long time no see… brother." He stated. "You called?"

The elder slowly descended from his throne, staring at his immortal sibling for the first time in nearly 3000 years. "Brother… is this what became of you? Why elder said he had an important task…"

Bloodbore's hand raised gently. "Rest assured, it was for the greater good. Now, what is the meaning of this summons?" he asked. "I doubt you knew I was on the Shadow King's council"

"No, not the least bit…" he sighed but then smiled. "Brother… can you tell me the current Shadow King's state of mind? We have heard many things about him, yet don't know if any are true. Did he make an agreement with Garou's mother?"

"Yes," he said without doubt. "He formed an alliance with her, in exchange for a body that can walk the mortal world without pain or death."

He grew intrigued. "And yet, she fell to Garou… how?"

"The shadow King got what he wanted… and then abandoned her. Far be it from me to guess why. Perhaps since he gained what he desired, she was no longer needed or useful to him."

"Ah," the elder said with great interest. "Then tell me, how did you get on the council? I have seen them in the past year to say the least. Yet, you were never on there…"

"Changes were made to say the least. Brother, what is with these questions?"

"I am trying to decide on what has really happened. We are about to call ragnarok upon Garou and his coven, yet things are not quite making sense. He left the contract too open and loose, it will be exploited to the fullest extend to say the least… however… why did he agree to one so soon and so quickly?"

Bloodbore merely smiled. "You would have to ask him."

The tone he spoke. The elder knew Bloodbore well enough that he knew something else going on. "Brother… what are you not telling me?"

There was silence from the shadow, he looked his sibling in the eyes and stated. "Bow out." He warned. "Break out of the contract, pay the penalty and leave this land… while you still can." He warned. "This shall be my only warning, and my last gift to you. For the sake of your coven…" With that he vanished.

Bloodbore was gone and yet the room appeared startled. "Bow out? What does he mean by that?"

"We are not losing a winning war! What did that old bat mean?!"

The elder thought it over, despite becoming a shadow. Bloodbore spoke as he always did. He wouldn't lie often, when he did, it was merely to fool and enemy or to bide time. Yet this tone… this was his warning tone.

"Elder?" his eldest fledgling asked.

"Never mind what he said, you are all right about this, we are not bowing out of an easy war!" he protested.

They howled and cheered to the elders order, then, the message came to them by a bat. The time has been called.

Ragnarok will be called upon tomorrow night!


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Bad recovered from his incident, yet it was so late in the morning the next day, he never forgot to take his medicine. With a disgruntled shutter, he took the vial and pounded it back in disgust. "BLEH!" Bad said aloud. "Tastes worst than before!"

Garou was already awake, and for the first time in a while, he made breakfast. "Huh? Where's Sonic? He usually does this in the morning." Bad asked.

"Told him to get lost for now, I could handle it." Garou muttered under his breath. As Bad took a seat, Garou placed his breakfast down before him. "We got a problem now." He said. Reaching into his shirt, he took out a scarlet red paper. "Ragnarok as been called for tonight."

Bad froze. "Shit, and I just took my medicine!" he protested. "We can last right? Besides, how many of us are going into this?"

Garou sighed. "This is what I needed to talk to you about…" he explained that his legions mainly consisted of the vampires who didn't wish for his mother to fall into power. As such they are not part of his coven, they were merely allies for the war, and all other who joined him. "Basically, our coven is Flash, myself… and you. Three of us against ten thousand…"

There wasn't a look of surprise on Bad, he ate his breakfast as he normally did and nodded. "Yeah… seems like fun." He said sarcastically. "Can we last until morning though? Can these vampires be out in the sun?"

"Most of them yes, but I doubt that is going to be the issue, every ragnarok, they place a seal down to ensure the war is fought fair and square in a sense. So, if there is a vampire who can die by the light of the sun, the seal will protect them until the war is over. Some have tried to win vampire wars this way as well, outlasting their enemies until dawn, but that won't happen now."

Once more Bad nodded. "Where is Zenko going to be?" he asked. "I don't give a damn about me, but my little sister needs to be protected!"

Garou nodded. "You need to know, since she is connected to you… she is part of the coven, however we are not getting her involved in battle. I have asked for Atomic and his disciples to look after her until this is over."

Bad continued to eat, however he was already picking up that something wasn't right. "You're more worried about this than facing your mother." He said in a blatant tone. "What's up?"

There was no point in hiding it anymore. Bad could pick up on his emotions too easily. Garou looked away rather embarrassed until he said. "What was said the day before… how I am not the strongest anymore between the two of us. And yet, at the same time, my own body is battling against me! It's trying to process the power I got from my father, but also what I am gaining from you… I don't even know if I am a true vampire anymore."

"You still drink from me every few days, I would say so." Bad muttered. "Well, not as much, but you get it."

"I don't want to get weaker, you know I strive to be the strongest. But… I don't even know anymore…"

Bad had ever seen Garou so conflicted before, the once arrogant and cocky asshole that he was has become someone vulnerable. For the first time really, he was scared. Not for the people around him, but for himself. All his life he has known about his father's power, ever since his death he has kept it contained and hidden from the world in hopes of sparing it from his wrath or consistent thirst for blood. But now… he doesn't know anymore.

"We'll end this tonight, I swear it." Bad vowed. "You, me and Flash… I think those assholes need more friends if you ask me."

Despite his confidence, Bad was a little worried too. He managed to survive the last war due to luck and an unexpected power boost after becoming the Shadow King. But that power won't be there anymore until 10:38 tomorrow morning. Could they last until then?

'Of course I can' Bad thought. 'All I need is my fighting spirit, those vampires will get a taste of my own power soon enough!' he thought confidently.

"You are so full of yourself," muttered Garou, but then smirked.

"Goddamn it I forgot your telepathic…"

#

Later that day, Bad picked Zenko up from school.

As he walked her home he paused, as something didn't feel right. "Big Brother?" she asked.

"You need to go, now" he said in a warning tone. His grip came firmly on his bat as he could sense something getting closer. It was familiar, however different.

Zenko paused when her hand gently came onto Bad's bat. "Big Bro… it's okay," she said gently.

He came out of the side street rather oddly, but then leaned against the wall.

"Amai Mask?" Bad muttered. "What the hell do you want?"

Amai came forward rather oddly, his gaze came down to Zenko at first but then turned to Bad. "I'll look after her." He said.

"Wait, what?!" Bad demanded. "What the hell do you mean…"

"She is your sister, she is part of Garou's coven… therefore whatever happens tonight she will be on the front lines as well…"

"Nah, you don't get it, she ain't going to be in the fight…"

"I am more than aware of that but by vampire law. She has to be in attendance along with the other non fighting members of the vampire legions." He explained. "Don't you think I know a thing or two about this?"

His grip didn't lighten on the bat. "What the hell makes you think I am going to trust you with her?" he demanded.

Amai gave a small smile. "I am indebted to you, in more ways than one. You exposed my mother for who she really is, and what she stood for. I had long believed Garou killed our father for the sake of power, not realizing he was preventing mother from obtaining it herself. Then, when she killed my brothers and nearly took my life… you saved me when you didn't have to."

"You thank Garou for that," Bad muttered. "I would have left you to die if I had been him, but he must have realized you saw the truth. You owe your debt to him, not me."

"It was your blood that saved me. For that… I will keep your sister safe."

"Bad…" Zenko said. He peered down at her and she gave a nod. "He means it, also if he did anything… you know… Igris would take care of it"

"Igris?" both Bat and Amai questioned.

"That's all you need to know…" Zenko said with a grin.

Bad smirked, she finally named the dragon in her shadow.

"Garou said he has Atomic and his disciples looking out for her…"

"They won't be able to come. There will be a seal in place to ensure only vampires of the covens can attend the war. They will be on the outside looking in, but I on the other hand can enter. I am Garou's brother, by kinship. I can enter… I can keep Zenko safe."

Bad lowered his bat, however still didn't trust Amai as far as he could throw him. "We talk about this with Garou and Flash, you coming?"

Amai placed on some sunglasses and an odd looking hat. Just enough to hide his appearance in public, with a nod, he followed Bad and Zenko home. Yet before they could even get through the door, Garou jumped out and tackled Amai to the ground! He pinned him down and grabbed the scruff of his shirt. "What the hell do you want now!" he demanded.

Sweet Mask kept calm as his hands raised up. "At ease Garou, I am merely here to help" he insisted.

"Tch, yeah sure you are!" he growled.

"I think we ought to hear him out, let's take this inside." Bad called.

#

Garou sneered at the whole explanation Amai gave, he didn't believe it at all, not one word. Yet Amai appeared to have spoken truthfully. "If I were to harm her now, what do you think is going to happen to me?" he demanded of Garou. "I am more than aware of Bad's power. I fear that over death at your hands to say the least…" he took a small sip of tea that Zenko happened to have prepared for the table. As he savored the drink, he turned to Bad.

"What do I have to do to prove I will not harm your sister?" he asked.

Bad thought it over, there were many things that could be done, however he wasn't to sure on which to go for. He turned to Zenko's shadow. "Igris, can you get Jima for me please?" he asked.

Her shadow appeared smaller and then it grew out again, Jima appeared and bowed towards Bad. "My King" he said respectfully.

"I got Amai Mask here claiming he will look after my sister if something were to happen tonight… problem is, a promise from him means jack shit to me. Any idea on what to do to ensure he keeps his word?"

Jima peered over at Amai Mask, but there came a look on his face, one of a half smile. "Oh, but of course my King, you can make him a servant of yours even without taking his shadow."

"I don't got my power right now either…"

"None is needed, just… your permission." Jima said.

"What is he saying?" Amai asked.

"None of your concern right now." Bad snapped back, but he shared the half smirk that Jima possessed. "Go on…" he insisted.

"I suggest we place one of our own within his shadow, that or we merely possess his shadow and ensure he does no harm to the princess. May I?" he asked.

Bad nodded his approval. Jima slithered up to Amai, and suddenly pulled him to his feet. "What… what are you…"

Before he could answer, Amai appeared weak suddenly, his face went pale as he collapsed on to the table.

Garou even froze as Jima ripped the shadow of Amai Mask up off the ground. It stood on its own, amazed to what just happened! It turned to Bad and instantly bowed… which forced Amai to bow as well. "What… are you doing to me!?" Amai Mask demanded.

"Ensured you do not harm the princess. My friend here is going to make certain your movements are not hostile towards Princess Zenko, if they do… he will kill you." Amai didn't understand a lick of shadow speech so Garou had to interpret for him.

Yet even after the interpretation, Bad and Garou froze to the comment. "Wait, what?!" Bad demanded. "That shadow…"

"Indeed my King. Amai Mask's shadow has sworn its loyalty to you, should something occur to Amai Mask, his shadow would already be bounded to you."

Bad had a very cocky look on his face now. "Oh really?" he said with a tone of sarcasm. "I could make you my bitch!"

"BIG BROTHER!" Zenko protested.

Instantly he dropped the smirk. "Garou, is there no other way around this?" he asked.

He shook his head. "I am not all to familiar with vampire customs, remember? I ran away from home before learning any of them. Father let me roam free and refused to bind me to the family castle. Amai on the other hand lives and breathes the traditions of the vampires." He said. "I have no choice but to believe he's right on this. Zenko will have to be there to witness the contest, yet at the same time, I fear the underlings would get a little zealous if she was there alone."

Amai nodded. "I assure you, despite my lack of vampire abilities now… I retained all my strength. Underlings are mere piss on to me."

Bad snarled at the notion, but there was no other choice. "We better go." Garou announced.

"So where the hell is this thing happening?" Bad questioned.

"A massive clearing in the forests of City G."

"My King…" Jima said. "If princess Zenko were to enter combat with you, we can come to your aid… however, we know the princess is everything to you, I merely suggest this, but understand if my notion is refused."

"Thank Jima, but I am not risking my sister to have an advantage. I bashed in vampire heads before, I can do it again!" Bad stated proudly. "However, if Amai is overwhelmed, then please, help him." The Naga shadow bowed as he vanished back into Zenko's shadow, but the familiar dragon peering out returned to its post. Bad turned to Garou. "You ready?" he asked.

Garou stood up out of his chair. "Let's get this slaughter party started!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

They arrived.

Garou, Bad, Flash, Amai and Zenko came to the vast open field where the vampire war Ragnarok will take place. Flash however felt something off. "This isn't right is it?" he asked.

Bad however couldn't tell. "Something wrong?" he asked.

Garou tried to pin point it too, everything appeared normal, even the seal in place to keep all forces within the area to prevent interference or fleeing was activated. Yet, he felt it too. "What the hell is that strange sensation I am getting. It's like we're walking into a trap!" he protested.

Flash nodded in agreement. "We need proof of the seal before we enter."

Bad was getting antsy to say the least, however he calmed down when Zenko's hand slid into his. She gave it a firm squeeze before smiling confidently towards him. With a deep breath he sighed aloud.

Then they appeared.

In a wave of bats, black fire and some merely stepped out from the woods, the vampire elders showed… each supported with 100 of their strongest underlings, back behind their massive covens. Garou took the first step forward. "I demand to see the seal!" he called.

The oldest elder revealed it, after all, he was the one who casted it upon the ground. He is the best when it comes to making seals during war. "Beware of him brother. Your distrusting sensation isn't wrong," Amai Mask warned.

However there was no other choice, the seal was in place and would remain visible during the remaining of the war. Garou turned to Bad and Flash who nodded. Stepping into the seal, Garou already felt something was off. Matters weren't helped much as the elders were all smiling victoriously as they made their way in with their faction.

"This is all you possess?!" the oldest demanded. "Garou, the son of the crimson plague with merely 2 at his side!?"

"Two are more than enough for this." Garou snapped back. However the sensation in his gut wasn't going away.

This was wrong. This was a trap.

The elders and their legions didn't hesitate to step into the seal. They began to take their positions, gathering at different ends of the field, part of the rule so not one faction is crowded or surrounded right away. Bad was already looking into the eyes of the vampires, they were licking their lips towards them, anticipating a quick and very violent bloodshed.

"I'm gonna knock all their heads off…" Bad vowed.

"After I take them from their shoulders." Warned Flash.

The seal below their feet turned red very suddenly, Bad couldn't move his feet, but found the others were the same. It was to ensure no one jumped the gun and began the fight without warning. Instead he stared down, watch and waiting for the red to vanish from the seal. Bad already picked out his first targets, in fact it was all part of the plan. But first…

Light red…

White…

"Go!" Bad shouted. He rushed into the middle of the field with his bat in hand he already began to spin himself around calling out his dragon thrash technique. Since his strength has doubled from his turn into a half vampire, he made a tornado! Sucking up all the vampires within range he brought them into the twister, then, with great might he slammed his bat to the earth and all those within hit the ground, cracking and breaking the earth underfoot.

That was a quarter of the legions in one shot.

He turned and saw Flash was too fast to be stopped let alone countered. His blade was quick to hit their marks as he sliced down his foes.

But that was when Bad realized something was wrong.

Flash takes the heads off anything clean, he never merely slashing the throat and waits for them to bleed out. No, he takes the whole head and ensures his target is dead.

Flash himself paused, as the vampires were no worst for wear!

"What the hell!" Bad demanded.

Even Garou was noticing the issue. Whirlwind iron cutting fist should have turned those he faced to mincemeat by now. Yet, the only thing damaged was their clothing!

The elder who casted the seal began to laugh aloud. "You are so naïve child!" he said.

"You failed to notice I casted more than one seal!"

Under foot Bad began to see three other seals hidden below the white one. "Cast of ages, cast of reformation, cast of healing… THESE ARE NOT PERMITTED DURING RAGNAROK!" shouted Amai.

"Indeed, which is why I casted them long before it was declared!" the elder said with a grin.

"Wh… what does that mean?" Bad asked. "What the hell do these things do!?"

The elder chuckled to Bad's panic. "Simple really, those who are above a certain age will heal automatically from wounds rendered to them by younger opponents… you… Flash and Garou. The youngest of our legions is a merely 100 years older than Flash, but still it is enough to ensure one thing. We won't die at your hands, and you will die at ours!"

"You sons of bitches!" Bad cursed under his breath.

It was already seven at night, he wondered though, if they could keep going until the morning, just long enough until his potion wears off?


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

In the shadow realm.

"This cannot be good, our king is in danger!"

"We have to help him!"

"We're closed off, we cannot until the potion has passed through."

The council held an emergency meeting with the exception of Igris. Jima has been watching everything closely and has worried for his King. "We did not anticipate such markings to be used against him… We cannot enter after the seal has been activated. We can only do so when the potion has worn off from the King." He stated.

The table was frustrated, the legions restless as they witnessed the odds against their King grow with each passing hour. Everything was being observed from his shadow, and yet despite being so close, they felt helpless and far from their King.

Bad continued to fight, no matter what happened, no matter the odds he vowed to keep going. But he was getting weaker and tried by the hour. Flash, Garou and Bad were able to go for another seven hours, but fatigue began to wear on them.

"We need a solid plan! We need…"

"To not interfere…"

The council froze to the voice, they turned and saw the King's bodyguard Sonic sharpening his blade. He appeared disinterested in the events of the mortal world, let alone not the least bit worried for his King. "King Bad… is in great danger!" protested Jima. "Why did you not enter the contest with him!"

Sonic shrugged. "He never asked of me, he never summoned me before taking his potion. How was I to answer and protect him?" he asked.

Jima had been growing suspicious of Sonic, he has been acting very odd for the past few days. One, he has read every book in the shadow library. A particular book he continues to go back to time and time again. Second, he has searched the potions room many times and yet never made anything or took anything out to his knowledge.

"How can you be so calm?" demanded Jima.

Sonic smirked. "I have faith in our king…" he paused as the world began to rumble. The shadows all grasped their hearts as they felt a sensation resonate through Bad and into them. Such anger... violence began to fill them, yet they found themselves unable to move. Even Sonic appeared startled to the sudden events.

"Has the King…"

"No…" Sonic whispered, but then a crooked smile came over him. "The King of the Shadows just awoke!"

#

Zenko was nervous to it all, her eyes kept turning to Amai, wondering what was happening, what was going to become of Bad if the seals are in place. "How come I couldn't see them?" she asked as the tears fell from her eyes. Had she, it could all have been avoided. As she began to weep, she felt Amai's hand gently come upon her head.

"I didn't notice them either, the elder is quite skilled, as he said, he placed these markings down long before ragnarok was called. He's crafty to say the least, however if your brother, Flash and Garou can last, they will mean nothing…"

"Speaking of lasting, how about we see what makes you so special there Amai? Rumor has it you turned mortal!" came the call of the underlings. Zenko grew scared as the vampire surrounded them. Amai hid her behind his leg as he stood rather annoyed to their attempt to advance.

"You weaklings sicken me…" He merely stood in place as the underlings tried to strike.

With a few motion of his arms, he severed them all to bits. "How unfortunate, you are not within the circle, then again… you would be too young for the seal to have such a benefit to you…"

"GAH!" Zenko turned and froze at the sight.

Garou was stabbed with a sliver dagger!

The blood gushed out his lip, the wound continued to bleed out as the vampires grinned with greed. Flash and Bad were held down. Bad was beyond tired yet he screamed aloud for Garou to hold on.

"Don't die on me man! Don't DIE!" he shouted.

The oldest of the elders, the one with the power to make the seals merely smirked as he withdrew the dagger. Garou dropped to the ground yet clenched his wound to try and stop the blood from gushing out of him. "It won't be long now. He will die…"

"Garou… Man, please, PLEASE KEEP FIGHTING! YOU'RE A PAIN IN THE ASS, BUT YOU CAN'T DIE ON ME!" Bad shouted.

He got a small smirk out of the human monster, but he was getting weaker…

#

His heart ached…

Bad felt as if his heart shattered before his eyes. Why? Why did he care so much for the vampire that turned his life into a living nightmare? Why did he care that he would die soon if something wasn't done to save him… why did he agree to all of this? Bad didn't know, but he knew his fighting spirit wouldn't let him down. He tried to struggle out of the grasps of the vampires, but they were just too strong to be contended with. The elders from the other covens ensured he didn't move from where he stood. Yet, they made certain he was close enough to watch Garou die on the ground.

"It will end soon enough, and then, we will kill you…" the elder announced as he turned to Flash.

"Fangblood, I thought we agreed, Flash is relinquished to me!"

"Calm yourself Crimson, I am merely stating the obvious."

'Fangblood, what a dumbass name!' Bad thought. Yet this elder continued to tease and torment Bad as he made his way to him, staring him in the face as the sickening smile grew. "Then, you will die… after… I take your sister and make her my wife… I do love them young. I will turn just before you take your last breath, she will forever be my child bride!"

His heart pulsed once, a strong and yet very powerful badump resonated against his chest. Then, it came to a sudden stop.

"What… did you just say?" Bad demanded in a seething tone.

His heart had yet to beat again, but Bad wasn't in pain, it was as if something within him broke.

He heard it, but he wanted to be sure it was exactly what the elder threatened. Fangblood's smile grew as he stated everything slower to ensure Bad got all the details. "A child bride… isn't it… sinful for me to have one? But she is so pure and innocent, I'll bet she tastes wonderful…"

BADUMP

Bad began to seethe, he felt his strength suddenly surge as his stomach began to act up. He tried to break free, but Fangblood was quick to punch him square in the stomach.

Metal Bat froze as he felt something wrench up. He was physically ill, as the vampires laughed aloud. "Puny Halfling couldn't keep down his own spit!" one snickered.

Bad threw up then and there, mainly over himself much to the laughter of the vampires.

Fangblood however noticed the contents regurgitated was not bile… but potion. "Ah it appears you have lost you… medi…cine…" his voice suddenly trailed off, Bad began to smirk as he stared ahead at Fangblood.

"You just pissed off the wrong guy, asshole!"

Black smoke began to come up through the ground, Bad suddenly gave off a haunting battle cry, sending the legion of vampires flying about like ragdolls! Even Fangblood was blown back!

Yet the moment he was free, Bad rushed to Garou. Placed his hand over the wound, and using his free arm to feed him. Garou took his blood without hesitation, and drank more than he ever did before. Peering down, Bad saw the wound heal rather well. "It's enough…" Garou said weakly. "It's… enough…"

Bad nodded as he stood up, glaring at the legion of vampires who have since regrouped back and away from him. "What… what are you?" Fangblood asked. For once, his voice was full of fear.

However, there came a sinister grin over Metal Bat.

"I'm going to devour… each… and everyone of your sorry ass souls!"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

He never felt anything like it before.

Bad could feel the power seething out every pour of his skin, every fiber of his being was enriched and stood at the ready. He didn't need his shadows for this, the legion will fall by his hand! But first thing's first. "Bloodbore…" he said. "Don't show yourself but guide me here… these seals, can I break em?" Bad asked.

{Yes, my King,}

"Good, tell me how. I want all of them shattered… but the sealing one that is keeping the legions in this area. They ain't running away from me."

Bad was thinking how he was going to take all of them down, yet there was a part of him billowing inside his body, and it was growing stronger by the moment. It took everything to suppress it for the time being, but he needed to ensure he can break the spells that are hindering his victory.

{Truthfully my King, your blood can break these seals with ease. After all, they are to ward off death. How can it when Death is within the sanctum of the seals?}

Bad smirked. Looking about, he found his metal bat, his forehead had been bleeding for a little while, all he needed to do was get his blood on the bat and then, take his position. He smirked as his eyes spotted the first one. Seal of recover, one solid strike and the symbol shattered.

"What… IMPOSSIBLE" shouted the elder Crimson.

Then, the seal of ages, broke in one swing. Then, the last one, seal of reformation was the last to shatter. With the three gone, the legion of 10,000 could now face their punishment. Bad could not longer hold back. He felt something slither and build up from his stomach, creeping up his throat and into his jaws. His mouth opened, black wisps of smoke began to escapes, and then grow into strong, barbed fibers. The wisps broke off and began to slink across the earth, heading towards the vampires. Bad couldn't keep his mouth closed, he started to panic slightly to the notion as his mouth appeared to stretch wider and wider apart!

{My King, do not kill them all.} Bloodbore warned. {If you displace the balance among the vampires, they will attempt to regain their numbers and break out into civil war. The humans will pay a terrible price for it. I suggest leave five of each coven alive, from there, use the survivors to work out a peace treaty, but endure the elders responsible for this war, and their strongest minions are consumed…}

Bad understood, yet didn't quite know how to tell who was from what… either way… he didn't care for the moment, he surged again, but this time, he unleashed what he held back, the desire to end this war, to make the elders pay for what had happened, their punishment was about to be given as the wisps of smoke lashed forward, embedded themselves into the vampires through their mouths, nose and eyes…

#

"He's not getting away with this… We'll keep his sister hostage and demand that he…"

"Igris…." Zenko said calmly.

Even Amai Mask froze in fear as Zenko's shadow spread across the ground, it kept growing bigger and bigger until they were lifted up off the earth and onto the back of a shadow dragon! "Uh… this… is Igris?" Amai whispered to her.

She merely smiled. The dragon glared down at the underling vampires, left outside of the barrier looking in. Amai however turned and froze to what was happening. "Uh… Zenko. I am going to suggest you not see this." Amai said gently. His hand carefully went over her eyes just to be certain she doesn't see.

"What? Is something wrong with Bad?" she asked.

"Uh… How do I explain this… what he is doing… isn't for the faint of heart…"

#

Garou froze.

Flash turned a different shade of white as Bad's full power was unleashed. His full shadow King persona has emerged, and he was going to be certain it's the last thing the vampires see.

Garou tried to get to his feet, yet the loss of blood was too great to contend with. He had yet to fully digest what he took from Bad, and yet, he felt this was wrong. "We can't let him do this…" Garou whispered.

He tried to stand, but was stopped by Sonic! He stood before the two and stared them down. "You cannot interfere with the King's will." He warned.

"Screw you! What if he hurts himself!?" Garou demanded.

"My King knows what he is doing…"

"How can he when he has never done something like this before?" demanded Flash. "Sonic… he needs to be stopped!"

Yet it was too late. Garou froze as he watched as the shadows of nearly ten thousand vampires get ripped from their physical bodies! The black wisps that came out of Bad's mouth made certain to keep a firm and solid grip on his prey. The torn out shadows kicked and screamed as were dragged across the earth and towards his mouth. The shadows suddenly condensed down the closer they got to his lips. His body swelled up and contorted as Bad fed from the damned. Garou even had to look away as Bad's body continued to shift and contend with his feast. He gave a deep and gratifying gulp. Yet after the meal, Bad muffled a burp before passing out shortly after.

"BAD!" Garou called. But now wasn't the time to focus on that, the surviving vampires all rushed to Garou. They hit the ground begging for their lives. "We concede to you!" Fifty vampires remained, Garou accepted their surrender, after all, Bad spared them for a reason didn't he?

"We make a treaty here and now. You no longer come after me, my family or anyone I associate with! You will not call upon me for a vampire war, the wars among clans ends here and now!" Garou demanded.

"Whatever you wish, just please… don't have him devour us!"

"Perhaps it is best we get Snek to draft an official agreement?" Flash whispered. However, Jima came out of Bad's shadow. At first he was startled to his King passing out from a very full stomach, but soon realized he was needed elsewhere.

"Jima, can you write…"

"I already did by Bloodbore's suggestions. We have constructed an agreement to satisfy both parties. Once it is sighed the barrier that is erected now will be taken down, ending ragnarok." He explained.

Garou nodded as he turned to the surviving vampires. "Sign this… and you won't be eaten by him." He warned and pointed to Bad.

They all eagerly did. A simple drop of blood made it official, the last to go on was Garou as the treaty then glowed and went back into the hands of Jima. "I will protect this incase of conflict…" With that, the barrier vanished, the surviving underlings to the elders rushed to their covens and announced they have to leave immediately. With that, the vampires made a mad dash to the skies, into the forests, anywhere but there!

With a sigh, Garou turned as Bad moaned aloud. "Shit man… what the hell did I do?" he grumbled.

A small smirk came over him. "I think we need to get him to the association…" Garou announced.

"I got your ride!" called Zenko.

#

Bad woke with the mother of all stomach aches.

He tried to ignore the pain for a while, but now it was getting too much to contend with. He felt as if he were being stabbed on the inside, like thousands of sharp fingernails were clawing against his stomach. His eyes slowly opened, he peered about his surroundings yet jumped at his own body.

"What the hell, how did I get fat!" he demanded.

Garou was sitting in the corner, laughing his ass off at him. "You really let yourself go there, the moment you became Shadow King and you become that!" he snickered.

Bad was about to say something until he swore he heard Tatsumaki in the halls being sick. "BLEH!" she wrenched.

"Huh, that's the fifth time today…" he snickered.

Bad glared at Garou, he was about to demand an answer when his stomach churn, he jumped himself as he swore he felt movement… then heard screaming. "What… the… fuck…" Bad said slowly and fearfully.

"9,960 shadows… that's got to be a record somewhere…" Garou said offhandedly.

"What…"

"That's now many you devoured. 9,960 shadows… or souls… vampire souls… hard to digest…" Garou explained in spurts.

However Bad was confused. "Wait… I saw you get stabbed with a silver dagger… that… that should have killed you, right?"

Garou appeared rather offended. "You WANTED me dead?" he asked sarcastically. "Geeze, pick your priorities next time…"

"No, I mean… it should have killed you right? How come it didn't? I didn't get to you that quickly…"

"I wonder that too…" Garou said and scratched his head oddly. "Something is going on, I don't know what yet. But I know this. You saved my life… again…"

"Huh? When was the first time?" Bad asked.

Garou smirked. "Each and every day you allow me to feed off of you, to take your blood to keep myself sustained and alive. If you knew how hard it was to suppress the urges I get to feed when I didn't have my match…" he paused. "I could have killed a lot of people before meeting you. Thanks to you, I don't have to worry about it, that burden is gone"

Bad muffled a burp. "Excuse me… shit man…" he paused and sighed. "Why the hell did I eat all those vampire shadows?"

"Oh they pissed you off big time." Garou said and laughed. "Man, all I can say is, I'm glad I'm on your side!"

Bad tried to rub some relief into his bloated belly, but it wasn't working. "How is our patient doing?"

Snek wondered in, human form and snakeskin suit as he looked over Bad and was rather impressed. "I didn't think you could fit that many souls into a human body!"

"Shut the hell up and tell me there is some sort of relief to this!" Bad demanded.

Snek smirked and sighed. "Sadly, the only remedy is time. You ate these rather quickly, not to mention vampire souls could take awhile to digest, being old and all."

"Shit… I can't go around looking like Fat Bat!"

"Hehe, Fat Bat…" Garou snickered.

"Shut it!"

"Just rest, I don't know your digestion rate on this either, so it's going to be a mystery until we know for sure… besides, I think we ought to take you home. Every time Tatsumaki is near you, she throws up. Sensing soul energies and all, she can see all the vampires you ate… and it disturbs her…"

Bad rolled his eyes as he flopped on the bed in defeat. "Just… let me rest up for now…"

Garou nodded. "Let's go Snek and fill in Pig God." The two left the room. As the door closed, Bad saw him in hidden behind the doorway.

"What the hell are you doing here?!"

Sonic smiled as he approached his bedside. "My King, you are in great spirits after your first devouring of the enemies… I must say it was very impressive, your legions were quite terrified…" he said and bowed to him in great admiration.

"I wasn't doing it to scare them!" he snapped back. "What do you want and go. I ain't in the mood."

Sonic nodded as he stood once more, he left a drink of water with antacid tablets. "Rest well my King, I will tend to you the moment you return home. Your sister is in safe hands, and is being well looked after."

"Thanks for that…" Bad said begrudgingly. Sonic left shortly after, Bad sat himself up and took the antacids with water, he felt a little better, yet still he wished he didn't do what he just did. He didn't even feel sick about it!

With a sigh he decided to try and get some sleep.

It wasn't going to happen easily since his stomach kept screaming…


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"He devoured nearly 10,000 souls!" demanded Atomic. "Shit, I thought we were going to train this kid!"

"Vampire souls, no one innocent, kept within the barrier and by the rules of ragnarok." Stated Garou. "However, I am worried…"

"You damn well should be! He only became the Shadow King a few weeks ago… not even, and yet he has already devoured the souls of vampires! What if he gets a taste for it!?"

"He is quite put off to be honest with you," Flash stated. "Just noticing his current state, he isn't happy about it…"

"Temporary" stated Pig God. "His body is not adjusted to it yet, in due time, he will adapt to feeding from souls, that is when we must be vigilant the most." He looked about the table and said. "I have little doubt Bad had intention for this, but I also didn't think he understood the complexity of this ability, nor what it would do in the long run. Quite frankly, neither do we. Which is why we must keep a close eye on him. Understood?"

The table nodded in agreement. "Are we done with vampires?" Zombieman asked.

"Yeah, the contract Jima made is iron tight…" Garou paused. "But I think… there's something wrong with me." He announced. "I should have died…"

Flash nodded in agreement. "The dagger used was pure silver, similar to the one his uncle Pureblood possessed. He was struck in the stomach and the blade was turned. He should have bled out and died then and there… question is why didn't he?"

Silverfang was silent as he turned to Garou, his hand kept over the bandaged area of his core. Garou was wrapped up from the chest down, yet still the look of worry on his face was shared by his former master. "How could it? I mean… What if perhaps Bad's blood is doing a lot more to Garou than anticipated?" he asked.

"Indeed, Bad's blood has become rather a wonder to say the least. He allowed Garou to feed from him despite his own injuries. From what Flash also stated, Bad placed his hand over Garou's wound, did he somehow help heal it?" Snek asked.

"Could he have healing properties? Or is this how close he is to death itself?" asked Flash.

There was no answer, no one knew the least bit.

Pig God sighed aloud. "We will monitor everything,"

The table agreed as Snek sighed aloud. "I better load up on notebooks and pens to say the least"

"And PLEASE get him out of here. Bad is really creeping me out with his stomach agitating the way it is!" begged Tatsumaki.

#

Garou opted to take Bad home the moment he woke up. However he was more concerned as to what his sister would think of her big brother. "Shit man, she's going to hate me! She's going to be crept out by this!" Bad said all the way home. He wanted to walk in hopes of perhaps some light exercise would shake some of this weight. Garou however sighed aloud as it did nothing for him. They managed to hide his appearance for the time being, thanks to his shadow technique, Bad could alter his clothing and keep his face hidden.

By the time they walked in, Zenko was already at the door with a cup of tea in hand for Bad. "For your stomach," she said right away.

"Thanks sis… I'm sorry, I should have been more… uh…"

"Careful?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Yeah…" he muttered as took the drink. He was quick to pound it back, yet as he did, his stomach gargled. "Damn it… even when I drink something…"

"Let's get you rested up…"

Yet as Garou brought Bad into the house, he paused and saw Sonic in the kitchen. "My King has returned! Very good, I made this just for you. An old remedy for an ailment such as yours."

Sonic presented him with a strange and yet smoky looking drink. "What is it?" Bad asked.

"Drink it and see." Sonic said with a very strange grin.

Bad was desperate for relief so he did, he pounded back the drink, without even tasting it. His stomach once more acted up and moaned, but then, suddenly settled. He paused for a moment as he jostled his belly a little to see if there was a reaction.

Nothing.

"Shit man, thanks! That was great!"

Sonic merely bowed. "I lived to serve my King." He said graciously. "Oh, one important factor my liege. Do not go to the shadow realm until you are your old self again… With that many souls within you. If you do go… I fear there would be a rebellion in your own stomach"

Bad froze to the news. "Shit, for real?" he asked. Sonic did a sincere nod of his head. "Okay, I won't go back unless it's an absolute emergency… you guys will tell me right?"

"But of course!" Sonic vowed.

"Good." Bad said and then let out a yawn. "Still, I need a nap. You two going to be okay?"

Zenko nodded, as did Garou. Bad was quick to take to his bed and got to sleep, Garou on the other hand glared at Sonic. "I don't trust you," he said in a daring tone. "You are up to something, I know you are up to something, but I don't know what yet!"

Zenko nodded in agreement. "For a bodyguard, you really aren't doing your job," she warned.

The twisted grin on Sonic only grew. "Rest assured, I am doing my job, so well that you don't even notice it. For now, I will overlook this insult to my capabilities. You two ought to be thanking me later for what I have done. I have ensured Bad says in power!"

"Say what?" demanded Garou.

Sonic said nothing more as he vanished into his own shadow. Garou sneered at him. "Crafty son of a bitch, isn't he?"

"Still, what did he mean by that?" she wondered.

Not even he knew, but something tells him, Sonic has another agenda in mind…


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Within the Shadow realm…

"These are the books that he has been reading… History, potions, journals and logs of past kings and councilmen."

It was a small meeting of the minds. Jima has suspected something was going on ever since he formed the council. After he introduced Zombieman to the table, things have picked up rather quickly by his standards. Sonic has been research, looking for something of value within the library and potions room. He has wondered the realm and found places were the former kings resided and formed during their reign, question is, why?

Jima had requested a lizardman to keep track of Sonic. They are quite skilled in doing so, staying out of sight and appearing rather harmless in a sense. The one he hired was named Coldblood.

He had gathered all the materials asked of him by Jima and he explained what each one was. "I have only heard rumors of the journals of the former Kings, but I never thought anyone could obtain them…" Coldblood explained.

Jima nodded. "No one could until the current King allowed us to access them. Such rare treasures indeed, however, they wouldn't just be left out in the open in such a state. They must have been hidden, how Sonic found them is now the question. Also, why? What was the purpose of this?"

Jima began to read over some of the past King's journals. There were two that fascinated him; one the former king before Bad, and the king before the pervious one. The King from before last wrote rather fondly of his minions and those who served him. He felt there was something brewing among his council who didn't take kindly to his peace approach. They wanted more power, more minions and demanded that the King do his job and fill his army. But he refused. There wasn't anyone in the known world a threat to the Shadows, after all they are part of Death itself. Yet the council refused the notion.

"What is this…" Jima said as he found a hidden page. It was folded up like a note and yet tucked into the leather covering of the journal. He read it to himself, yet froze at the words.

"Jima?" Coldblood asked. "Are you okay?"

"I need to speak with the council of this… Coldblood you have served your king well. I will be certain to tell him so!"

With that Jima slinked off at the same time, he let his thoughts travel. "All councilmen, to me!" Within moments the room shifted and changed until the council room formed around him, the members appeared quickly and looked panicked.

"Is King Bad okay? Is something wrong!?" asked Bloodbore.

"No, but I believe this was all deliberate" Jima stated. He revealed the note to the council, each member took a turn reading it and were just as surprised as he was to discover the contents.

"What is this?!" demanded Ravager. "Is this…"

Jima nodded his head. "I believe so, and I believe it has gone into play as we speak."

The table froze to the news. "We… we need to do something, do we not?" asked Bloodbore.

"But, is this truly a bad thing?" question the ogre, Tusk.

That when the table fell silent to it all, even Jima couldn't bring himself to declare this was something terrible, and yet he knew it wasn't right either. "I feel we have an obligation," he said. "We have a great obligation to our King, to those who serve him and the family he protects. I fear if something is said now, we will endanger them."

The table nodded in agreement. "We allow this then?"

"There is no other choice but to, but we also much keep a close eye on our King from this moment on, and that of Sonic!"

"Where did he find all of this? How could he?" asked Ravager.

"I doubt he did this alone, he must have had held from the shadows before him. I have been here since the reign of three Kings, not once have I seen or heard of such a thing in this note, but I do recall, the pervious one, he was search for something like this. I have little doubt about it." Bloodbore stated.

"Be that as it may, from this moment on, we watch our King with the utmost care!" Jima announced.

The table nodded in agreement. "We will ensure he is safe at all times." The table vowed.

"But one important factor… he must not enter the shadow realm in his current state!" Jima announced.

With a nod, they were dismissed, Jima however still felt more needs to be done, yet he also understood the reasoning behind this brash move by the one named Sonic…

#

Bad woke the next day, he stretched and yawned aloud as he tried to sit up, but quickly remembered why he couldn't do so very easily. "Shit…" he muttered to himself. Yet, compared to the day before, he wasn't that bad looking. Still a big pot belly to say the least, hell he even grew a little taller over night! He looked to his arms and found they were thicker than before, stronger to say the least. "Did I get burly overnight!?" he demanded of himself.

But one thing did trouble him, he was still in his Shadow King state. It couldn't be helped considering what his stomach is full of at the moment. Yet a low rumble came from it. "Human food, yeah, I still need to eat that…" he muttered. He rolled himself up and then out of bed, by the time he reached the kitchen, breakfast was at the ready. Yet it wasn't the usual big fluffy pancakes or things like that. It was bacon, eggs, fruit and juice. "Let me guess, I'm on a diet now huh?" Bad said aloud to himself.

It didn't matter, he sat down and filled his plate and began to eat. He thought for certain he would have trouble keeping human food down, but it was relatively easy. The only terrible part of it was the bacon getting lodged in his fanged teeth!

He took his fill but found the house oddly empty. "Where the hell is everyone?" he wondered. Turning to the clock in the kitchen, Bad went for a drink of juice when he suddenly sprayed it everywhere.

"WHAT ITS 12:45 IN THE AFTERNOON!" he demanded.

Wasting little time, he changed his clothing… yet sighed as he had to use his power to have something to wear, currently his wardrobe was of no use to him. Next he used the darkness and managed to get to the Heroes association in mere seconds. He stumbled out of a darkened hallway, which surprised a lot of people passing through, but many froze in terror at the sight of him!

"Oh… right…" he muttered and was quick to run as a woman screamed aloud!

He rushed down the halls, trying to avoid being seen when suddenly he was grabbed and pulled into a room. He froze as Zombieman pinned him to the wall. "What the hell are you thinking? This is the civilian area! We haven't told anyone about you looking like this!" he then paused. "Since when the hell did you get burly!?"

"You think I would know!" Bad snapped back. "I woke up like this!"

Zombieman sighed. "I guess we should be grateful, you've been asleep for the past week!"

"What…"

"One week, you've been out like a light… guess this explains why…"

"Whoa, wait, you serious?" Bad demanded.

Zombieman nodded. "We had a hard enough time trying to get Garou to come out of the house. Come on, I got a place where we can go." With that, Zombieman gabbed Bad by the scruff of his shirt and pulled him into the dark corner of the room.

They ended up in another, yet as the lights came on, it was revealed to be a training room! "Nice, you're better at that than me!"

"Been practicing."

"Good, he's up and about…"

Bad paused as Pig God appeared. "Damn, and Garou says I need to wear a bell!"

A smile came over the massive S Class hero, he took a look at Bad and appeared rather curious. "Is this what happens when you overeat there Bad? You become this?"

Bad turned away. "I don't even know anymore… I just want things to go back to the way they were! On the bright side my stomach ain't acting up. So I guess that's a win…"

"Indeed, now we teach you about your other abilities." Pig God stated. "Perhaps in doing so you will slim down a little more and return to your former state."

It caught Bad's attention so he eagerly agreed to the idea. Zombieman kept near the back wall as Pig God sat Bad down and explained one of his many abilities. "Being King of the Shadows entitles you to a few tricks of the trade sort of speak. One is adaptability, for example. For every shadow you have, whatever they maybe, you can turn into that."

He sat there confused and tried to process the words a little more. "I can… you mean… I can shape shift?!" Bad demanded.

"Have you tried to yet?"

"No…." Bad was getting a little leery on the notion. He slowly picked himself up off the floor and looked to his hands. "Uh… wait, if I do that… will it hurt anyone under my power? I mean if I turn into say Jima… will it harm him?" he asked.

There was a very proud look over Pig God, one that appeared that someone touched his heart. "No," he said gently. "It will not affect ANYONE under your command. Your power simply borrows these elements and makes them your own. Go on and try it for yourself!"

Bad sighed as he tried to think of how he was going to do this. He couldn't imagine himself turning into a Naga, yet it appears he has the opportunity to! With his eyes closed he envisioned Snek, how he looked in his true form and imagined himself like that. He felt his strength surge for but a moment, a chill went down his spin and them, a comfortable numbness followed.

"Holy… shit…" came the voice of Zombieman.

Bad opened his eyes, his body encased in black smoke yet it was quickly absorbed back into his skin… that have become crimson red scales. "Whoa… WHOA!" he said in amazement. He tried to move but fell face first into the floor!

SPLAT!

Despite the setback, Bad regained himself as he rose again, turning around he found himself to be a massive red and black serpent! "Hey hey! This is cool!" he began to move about as soon as he figured it out, soon he was gliding across the floor with ease and moved rather gracefully to say the least!

"Pig God, I got to speak with you about…" came the voice of Snek.

Bad smirked as he approached. "HEY SNEK! Lookie here! I'm just like you! Do I look like a good Naga or something?!" Bad said as be flaunted his form.

Snek's eyes nearly came out of his head, he dropped everything in his hands and reached into his back, out of nowhere he pulled a notebook and pen and began to write feverishly. "A simple yes would have been find ya know." Bad pouted. He turned to Pig God. "What's next?"

"Well, what other shadows do you have under your command?"

He thought it over. "Ooo werekin! Like a hellcat!" he said. This time he kept his eyes open, his body enveloped in the black smoke once more. He never felt the physical change to say the least, instead, the transformation merely felt like another layer of clothing came over his body. He was quick to turn that time and found himself standing on two feet, red and black fur covered his body as he twitched the catlike ears on his head. "Not bad… not bad at all!" he said with great amusement.

It went on for hours, Bad effortlessly turned from one thing into another. Ogre, troll, werewolf, lizardman, and even wanted to try being a dragon! Yet was quickly stopped by Pig God insisting there wasn't enough room. But he did managed to learn one other thing. He could integrate parts into his body. Just because he couldn't turn into a dragon, didn't mean he couldn't obtain the wings of one to fly!

#

He was at the association for the first time in a week, he wanted to keep watch over Bad, yet he was called upon. Garou went to see what was going on, when Pig God appeared to have suddenly realized he had something else to do. Since then, Garou was left no other choice but to pass the time, waiting for him by training with Flash.

It was an eye opening experience.

Garou found his speed had increased, his strength and agility as well. Flash was taken aback by Garou's feat, yet when they stopped, the both appeared concerned. "Since when?" Flash demanded.

Garou shook his head. "Dunno." He replied. Then his phone went off. "Hello?"

"You got to see this." Came the voice of Zombieman.

Garou's head crooked to the side oddly. "Huh?"

"You got to come to training room beta. Bad's here and he's testing out his abilities, rather impressive if you ask me."

"What do you mean he's here!?" Garou demanded, but was quick to run out of the training room he was in and head down to room Beta.

By the time he walked in, he found Bad flying around the place like a child with a new toy! "YEAH! WWWWHHHHOOOOOO!" He shouted as he spun around and around on dragon wings!

Garou dropped his phone in shock.

He turned to Snek who appeared had yet to blink, yet writing everything in his book without even peering down at the page. When Bad landed, Garou paused and took in the sight. Bad was bigger than before, and yet he still had that belly on him, not as big but still rather noticeable considering he was rather fit and trim like himself. "HEY! GAROU!" Bad cheered. "Did you see me man? I CAN FLY!"

"Yeah… I saw…" Garou said with amazement and utter confusion. "Just… how?" he asked.

Bad shrugged. "I got dragons in my army, apparently those who are in my legions… I can turn into them too! Ain't that somethin'?"

Garou nodded yet turned to Pig God who was smiling at the whole thing. "He learned remarkably fast, he just started a few hours ago."

"What else can I try? What can I do now?!" Bad asked with excitement. "I want to learn it, please!"

Pig God smiled. "Very well, we have shape shifting done, now we need to work on using your own force. Consider this Bad, the smoke you have that drifts around you, that is your power. That isn't a mere decoration or some sort of side effect, this is something you can use to battle with!"

Bad looked around himself and noticed the smoke had gotten thicker than before. "So… this ain't smoke?" he asked.

"No, consider this an extension of your power. Think of something for it to do, like a shield for exam…" before Pig God could finish. Bad summoned a massive black shield before him!

"Nice! Wait, wait, I think I got this now!" the mist somehow drifted down and waited at Bad's feet, then, with an extension of his arms, it suddenly stretched out and spiked! Not near anyone of course, he was careful with that. "OOOooo, wait, one more!" the mist recalled back to his side, Bad began to manifest things out of the blue, swords, shields, armor… a baseball bat…

"I think he got the hang of it." Pig God said rather proudly. "He took to that rather quickly."

Garou however was concerned. "Shouldn't it have taken him longer?" he asked.

However he only got a chuckle out of the S Class hero. "Your forget who he is bonded to, your abilities become his, do they not?"

Garou forgot about that, but he wasn't sure if that was still possible considering Bad has become remarkably stronger than himself now.

With training done for the day, Bad looked over himself yet sighed. "I didn't lose any weight!" he protested. "How long do vampires take to digest!?... sorry man." He said after realizing Garou and Flash were still in the room.

"As we have said before, we have no idea what to expect of you Bad, you are the first Shadow King we are able to observe." Snek called. "Fascinating to say the least!"

Bad sighed. "Yeah… I guess so…" his stomach rumbled. "Damn, even like this I still get hungry."

"Oh? I didn't know that…" Snek said as he went back to his notebook. He sighed aloud as he found he ran out of paper and the pen he was using was about to dry out.

"I got to eat something, excuse me…" Bad walked out and headed right for the cafeteria.

Garou on the other hand froze and shook his head to it all. "Why does this feel so… wrong?!" he demanded.

"You are matched now to someone who has greater power than your own… it's never happened to you before." Stated Zombieman.

Garou turned to Pig God who merely nodded in agreement with him. "I am confident though that we can trust Bad as a dependable ally from here on. When he first offered the notion of his shape shifting abilities, he was concerned since he could turn into anyone of those under his legions. He feared he would be harming one of them if he were to take their form. His heart is pure Garou, we need to ensure it stays that way."

Garou sighed and nodded in agreement. "Very well then, we will keep a close eye on Bad…" as he turned to leave, he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"We will keep an eye on you as well. Considering that Amai has been rendered mortal from drinking from Bad, and yet you have not been. It's a mystery we need to solve sooner than later."

With that, Garou left and checked up on Bad. When he reached the cafeteria the heroes all froze as Bad sat at a table to himself devouring vast amounts of food. "He hasn't done this in a while…" muttered one.

"What's with his look?" said another.

"Lay off!" growled Garou. "He's been through some shit as of late, don't be judging him for it"

The heroes eventually disburse, Garou approached the table and took a seat as Bad continued to eat. "Oh man… I'm so hungry! I wasn't like this, this morning… damn!" he said between mouthfuls.

"Uh… huh…" He was concerned, Bad hasn't eaten like this since he was turned into a half vampire. Then again, he had also been asleep for a week. To his knowledge, Bad hasn't eaten anything nor left his room. Still he could only wonder what was going on with him. He cleared the table and finished his meal, content. Bad patted his belly. "Mmm, that was damn good!"

"Bad… you sure you're okay?" Garou asked. "I mean… you slept for a week after the incident… you're bigger and still bulky to say the least… granted it's a look you could pull off…"

"What the hell are you saying man?" Bad demanded.

"What if something is happening to you?" Garou stated. "We don't even know the extent of all of this, what if… what if something is happening that could change you permanently!? I don't… I don't want to see you get hurt." He confessed and shied away shortly after.

"Dude…"

"Never mind, forget it…" He couldn't look at him after that. Garou let too much slip. He suppose to be the Human monster, nothing scares him or anything, yet, now… he worries for Bad and what might become of him. He took his leave shortly after, Bad however was quick to stand and follow him out.

"Garou wait!" he called. But he tried to ignore him and move on, yet Garou couldn't move, he found his body froze in place, staring down he saw the black shadow latched on to his. Bad… Bad was using his power to prevent him from leaving? "Don't ignore me, please!" he begged. Bad was able to catch up as he released his hold. "Look, I am utterly terrified about this. You know I am. Granted what I just did in the training room was epic, but still… it scares me… it ALL scares me. I mean, what the hell am I suppose to do with this kind of strength!?" he asked.

The two fell into an odd silence. "Bad… you can do anything now. Your power can make you unstoppable to say the least…"

"Yeah, but how many are out there what would want it for themselves? I've become you haven't I? Except with vampires coming at me, I got everyone who is desperate and dirty enough to do it! I probably got a bigger target on my back than you now… what the hell am I gonna do about it?"

"I… never thought of it like that. If someone does harm you, that power goes to them, and then…" with the last shadow King he planned on taking over the world with the legions he possessed. Bad doesn't want to do anything of the sort, he never asked for this power either, but he knows he can't just give it away.

Garou then nodded. "Okay then… let's work harder than before, let's figure this shit out and make sure no one messes with you!"

Bad's smile grew, he pulled Garou into his arms and embraced him tightly. "Thanks man…" yet the unsettling thing was Bad began to take in his scent oddly. "Mmm, you're blood smells really good right now…"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

He had a checklist.

Certain things need to go a certain way in his mind. So far, he was about halfway there. Sonic kept watch from the shadows, his King has developed quite well from his perspective. His power has doubled, he is getting use to the notion of controlling his strength and abilities as well as learning what he is capable of, but more importantly is his growth. Bad need to grow far more than his current state. "He has nearly consumed enough but not just yet…" he said.

"Do you intend on feeding the King once more?"

Sonic paused as he looked to the shadows, the ninjas who fell in their pervious battle lingered and listened in on his private conversation. He merely smirked to them. "Are you going to stop me? It was simple enough to convince the vampires to attempt a war with our King, but he fell short of the initial goal, he need more souls."

"You should have come to us!" protested Galewind.

"Indeed you have done well but we can assure our King gets the rest that he needs." Insisted Hellfire. "Besides, it has to be with subtlety now, he will be sure to watch himself and what he consumes from here on. But you also forget one factor to ease this burden… the size of the soul he consumes can make up for many."

Sonic paused. He then snickered. "I forgot to realize that, how foolish of me! That would quicken this up rather nicely"

"Getting him to do so thought…" pondered Galewind. "That is the true test!"

"Perhaps he needs a push to do so, our King has many factors to contend with. However a key right now is standing before us…"

"Garou…" the two shadows muttered. "He must know something is afoot by now."

"Indeed, he does, he is no fool and instantly suspected me of being untrustworthy…"

"Keep a close eye on that one, continue on as planned and we will do what we can to help. You should have told us about this, Sonic. We would have been more than happy to assist you," protested Hellfire.

"Well, you know now, keep it a secret!"

"It's no secret, the council is aware of your actions, but no action is begin taken against you… at least, not yet."

"It's too late for that to happen anyways. I better go, they will be heading back for dinner soon. I need to get it started."

"Feed our King well" with that, the shadows vanished. Sonic smile only grew wider, tonight he will ensure that the second phase is put into motion…

#

He was feeling strange around Garou now.

Bad had suppressed these emotions before, and yet in his arms, he felt comfortable. He took in his scent and then smelt the blood under the skin. For some reason he was tempted to draw it out, but he ruined the mood by stated how good Garou's blood smelt to him.

The embrace suddenly went limp from the Human monster. "What…"

"Shit… I just sounded creepy!" Bad pulled away as he turned from Garou. "SHIT!"

"Bad… are you okay?"

"Yea… no… I don't know… I got these emotions just swirling inside of me! I can't seem to focus on one or the other… you know when I saw you get hurt… I felt as if someone just ripped a part of me out of my body and tore it before my eyes!" he said.

Garou froze.

"You felt that strongly…"

"Shit man, as I said, you're a pain in the ass, but you are MY pain in the ass… No I didn't mean it like that… Goddamn it!" he was getting flustered, yet there came a sly grin over Garou.

"Really? The great Metal Bat… is having trouble with his own feelings? Let's see then…" He was fast, he got right into Bad face and then suddenly, his lips locked on to his. Bad felt the kiss grow stronger and more passionate until Garou pulled away. "Now… how do you feel?"

There was no answer from him. Metal Bat was oddly silent as he stared at Garou oddly, almost lost in a sense to what just happened. "You kissed me?"

"Beats having to keep kissing your neck! I've been wanting to do that for a while…"

He meant it too.

Garou wasn't being a smart ass about the kiss, Bad felt the passion behind it, the taste and the power he felt, it wasn't to be an asshole… he wanted to kiss him! The urge he felt within him resided, was this want he was looking for? Was this what he really wanted?

"Garou…" Bad began to say, yet found himself unable to speak any farther.

"It's okay, don't answer that unless you know for sure. Come on, we got to get home for Zenko, right?"

He merely nodded his head, but for the rest of the day, Bad tasted his lips, trying to relish the flavor of them.

'Yeah… I liked it…' he thought and smirked to himself.

#

They both went to pick up Zenko, Bad however kept to the dark alleyways so he wouldn't startle anyone. He just wished he could change back to his normal self than to be stuck in his Shadow King from. It was becoming a pain in the ass to say the least! He watched on as Garou and Zenko left. With that he managed to cover himself up and leave the alley without becoming too suspicious. He was able to catch up to them in no time.

"Big Brother!" Zenko cheered. Her hand fearlessly clasped into his. "I didn't think you were up. You snore you know, really loudly!"

"Yeah, you do," snickered Garou.

"Shut it." Bad warned Garou, but then turned to his sister. "Sorry, I'll try to stop."

When they got home, there was a massive meal waiting for them on the table. Turkey, roasted chicken, steaks and roasts… everything! "Whoa… that is some spread…" Bad muttered.

Then his stomach churned with hunger. "Damn it, I just ate too!"

"Old habits die hard huh?" snickered Garou. "At least it won't go to waste!"

Bad took a seat, he waited for Zenko and Garou to take their fill before he began to eat. Despite the pervious meal, he cleared the table rather quickly, surprising his little sister in the process. "You haven't done that in ages!" she said. "But you were asleep for a week, so it's okay."

Bad didn't have the heart to tell her about the massive meal he ate at the Heroes Association, instead he smiled and nodded to her.

The rest of the night they sat on the couch and watched TV. Zenko kept cuddling into Bad, and for some reason so did Garou! "You are a lot easy to lie on now, you're nice and padded!" joked Garou.

"Shut up" snapped Bad. Zenko was falling asleep, it wasn't long until Bad carried her off to bed, and he decided to go to sleep himself.

"I'm staying up for a bit, you go ahead." Said Garou.

Bad nodded as he went to his room, despite getting ready for bed, he wasn't the least bit tired. Instead he laid there wide-awake and thinking about the kiss. "He meant it, I felt his heart was in that… damn… why did it take so long for me to see it?!" Bad muttered. As his eyes grew heavy he began to drift off to sleep, yet the strangest thing happened. He felt as if he were awake. Bad dreamt he got out of bed and ventured into the halls, from there he turned to Garou's room and snuck in. He was sprawled out over the bed, wearing nothing more than his sleeping bottoms. Yet Bad slipped himself in beside him, taking in his scent once more.

'What is with this dream?' Bad thought, 'I swear I can smell him like I did before…'

The dream became more complex as Garou woke. "Huh? Bad? What are you doing here?" he muttered in an incoherent tone. Yet Bad assumed it was part of the dream. He leaned in and then, he felt his teeth drag over the skin of Garou. "What… what are you doing?!"

BITE

Bad's teeth broke through the skin and he began to drink. Mouthful after mouthful, he took a fair amount from Garou.

"WHAT THE FUCK, GET OFF OF ME!" Garou screamed.

Bad suddenly jolted, this was no dream! He released Garou and fell out of the bed. Yet his mouth was covered in blood. Garou was holding on to his shoulder as it continued to bleed out. "Oh God! I am sorry! Really, I don't… I don't…" Bad picked himself off the floor but was quick to brace Garou to him. "Drink!" he demanded.

He didn't need to tell him twice!

Garou was quick to break the skin and drink, more blood than before. Yet as he pulled away, his wound already healed over. Garou was breathless as he stared down at Bad.

Bad was trembling.

"Why… why did I just do that? Why!?" he asked and then began to tear up. "Man, I'm sorry!"

Garou wasn't angry with him, he was more stunned than anything. "Are you okay though?" he asked. "I only care that you're okay, are you hurt?"

Bad shook his head no. "What the hell is wrong with me!?"

Garou didn't know, but it has to be looked into as soon as possible.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"He drank from me last night…"

It was an emergency meeting, Garou had to call it. After the incident, he knew it wasn't right. Bad never craves blood, but the fact remained that he took it from him without hesitation. "I don't know what to say anymore… I mean… why?" he asked.

The table froze, even Pig God. "This is highly unusual to say the least. He devours nearly 10,000 souls, and yet has been unable to digest them all, now he is drinking blood?" he said.

"I'm scared for him," Garou confessed. "I mean… he's gotten a lot stronger no doubt, but the blood thing… worries me."

The table agreed as Atomic turned to Pig God. "We're not going to have to… you know…" he said in a not so settled voice.

"What?" Garou demanded. "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO KILL HIM!"

"Easy there, sometimes we got to say it to eliminate the probability of it." Atomic explained. "Besides, the sooner we know, the sooner we can deal with it."

"It's not that…" Zombieman announced. "I've been to the shadow realm recently, they are acting a little strange there… something is going on but no one wishes to speak about it."

"That's right Zombieman can go to the Shadow realm!" Garou said. "Wait, what do you mean something is going on? Are they planning a takeover?!"

He shook his head. "Nah, they like him too much, the first king to ever give them comfort and consider their needs. Bad doesn't see them as throw away pawns, he sees them as fallen warriors that deserve respect as if they were alive. No, something else is happening. I've been trying to gain access to their books, but some are being kept hidden from me. No one will mention them let alone attempt to help me find them. So the answer has to be in those."

"Books? What kind of books?" asked Silverfang.

"From what I could hear, they are journals and histories of the past two kings." He explained. "The one before last left something behind, the last one Bad overthrew was seeking it out, yet it was kept hidden from him. So, whatever it was… perhaps is playing a role in what's happening now."

"We need to find it…" said Flash.

"The sooner I have answers the sooner I can help Bad!" Garou announced.

"Say… where is he?" asked Tatsumaki.

Garou shrugged. "Said he got hungry, but he ate a big breakfast this morning. I don't see how he can be starving an hour later…"

#

It did nothing.

Bad ate a big and healthy breakfast this morning, and yet there was a part of him that still wanted more. Yet food wasn't the least bit interesting to him. "What the hell is it that I am craving?" he muttered.

He kept to the darkness yet patrolled the streets as he usually did. Bad was able to walk the shadows with ease and remain unseen. Yet before he could move on, the felt the world shake under his feet.

A humanoid like monster appeared and started to rampage. Bad took one look at it… and his stomach grumbled in hunger. "Are you shitting me right now? Nearly 10,000 souls and I want to eat more! Damn it!" he protested.

Yet the hunger was only growing, perhaps this wasn't want he needed, but he had to eliminate the possibility. Bad made his move. Using his power he was able make himself appear normal, but the effect only lasts a few minutes or so. He hasn't been able to keep a hold on the illusion when he moves fast or is struck against a monster. Fortunately for him, the streets were rather cleared out, it was just him and the ugly bastard in front of him.

The monster turned and took notice of him right away. "I use to be someone important, a body builder aiming for the big league, but they kept saying I was too small! Too weak! NOW I'M THE STRONGEST!" it announced.

It looked like a beefed up version of tank top master, yet not as powerful looking. "Whatever man, you all fall the same anyways…" then he felt it. His stomach turned as black smoke began to escape out his mouth. Bad tried to cover his lips, but the smoke kept seeping out.

The monster even froze. "Wai… wait a minute… what are you doing? What's happening to you?" The smoke dashed forward, the monster couldn't stop the wisps as they latched on to him! Through the eyes, nose and mouth they slinked into the body until Bad began to draw them back.

He slurped hard as the soul of the monster was forced out!

It resisted him, struggled and begged for mercy. Even offering to become a loyal minion. But Bad wasn't looking for new legions at the moment. He gave a deep and gratifying slurp, drawing the whole monster soul into his body and down his throat.

"Belch!" Bad let out a massive burp, but became rather bloated again. "Shit, shit, shit!" he muttered as his stomach ached. Yet soon, it settled once more. The shifting stopped along with the screaming. He was relieved and yet worried. "Why the hell was I craving this?" he muttered.

Bad decided to get a move on, his illusion effect was wearing off, and people were beginning to stop and stare at him…

#

Sonic admired from a far.

His twisted grin only grew as he saw his King feast once more. "Such an appetite, I am impressed for a halfling yet to adjust to his shadow form so quickly… Still it isn't enough!"

"With what was just consumed, that was equal to two souls." Said Galewind. "Simply won't do"

"I suggest we try and poke the hornets nest in a sense, find the larger beasts to feed our King." Stated Hellfire.

"In due time, remember we cannot rush this!" protested Sonic. "Our King is not a greedy man, he eats when hungry."

"Or out of anger if someone wrongs his sister…" chimed Hellfire.

Sonic gave him a sarcastic grin. "Very well, you poke the dragon on that! You fail to remember our Princess is under the best protection. And if the King ever finds out you used her to get to him, you will be added to his meal!"

The two ninjas sneered at the notion, neither one willing to risk it all to gain what they desired from King Bad. "So be it, we will do this your way Sonic."

He smiled in victory.

"Very well, we must ensure our King does not make it to the Shadow Realm at this time, he does, we will have to start over again. How fortunate that he hasn't had the desire to go and my warning was received well… we must keep it that way."

Hellfire and Galewind nodded in agreement. They took their leave as Sonic kept a close eye on Bad and ensured he had enough to sustain himself for the day.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The Shadow Realm.

It is an interesting place for someone who has never seen or heard of it before. Zombieman has found himself coming and going often, it also helps that he is a councilman and none of the other shadows bother him or question his reasoning for being there.

Today however he was in search of books, the ones he has over heard the other speak of and yet not talk about directly. Venturing to their library, he found other shadows looking over the various books available, he didn't realize it until now, but Shadows had their own alphabet as well, thankfully he could read those too.

"Councilman Z!"

He turned and saw a lizardman approach him. "Forgive me sir, I am Coldblood. You appear to be searching for something are you not?"

He played it cool. "Yeah, I heard about the past kings keeping records of their reigns… I am curious to those."

"Oh the journals? You would have to speak with the other councilmen, they have been removed from the library until farther notice."

"Oh? Any reason as to why?" he asked curiously.

Coldblood shrugged. "They were rather nervous to them, they were discovered by the one name Sonic who took a keen interest to not just the journals but the potions room and other areas of the shadow realm not normally explored by us. He must have found something, for there was a look of excitement on his face. Since then, he hasn't really been seen here. He's been keeping a very close eye on our King since."

"Potions… Do you still have the bottles he used?"

"Those have also been removed."

Zombieman knew there was a conspiracy going on now, he had to get to the bottom of it, Bad's been acting odd. It's concerning not just Garou but everyone else, He continued on until he found Jima.

It was a remarkable talent to say the least, despite the creatures of this world looking like nothing more than smoldering silhouettes; they all bared visible features as if there were a fire burning in their cores. Each one had a different color aura as it were. Coldblood and the other lizard people had a light blue color that highlighted their features. It was one of the few ways he is able to tall who's who. Zombieman approached Jima just as he finished his conversation with another Naga. Nagas themselves had a neon green color to their bodies. "Hey."

His voice started the councilman. "Z? What on earth brings you here?" asked Jima.

"I want answers… now." He demanded. "What's going on with Bad? You know something has happened to him. We know it too, but as to why… that's the mystery."

Jima froze to the question, he forced a smile and explained. "It is nothing serious, I promise you…"

"Then what is going on?" he demanded.

Jima was reluctant to speak any farther of it. "Tell me now… or I will be sure to get him involved… Jima… answers!"

He sighed. "I cannot deny a fellow councilman's request… Very well, follow me."

Zombieman kept his guard up of course, since they were all in on it now. However Jima was far more revealing than he intended. Zombieman was taken to another room, there laid three books, the vials of potion used and nothing more. "Read the books and you will understand what has happened. I recommend you start with the pervious King's, and work your way back."

"You aren't just going to flat out tell me?"

He shook his head. "I vow of silence we have made to say the least, but I beg of you. When you know the truth… please… not a word to our King? We mean no disrespect, we merely wish to serve him for all times!"

He was already getting a bad feeling about this, but there was no other choice. Zombieman took a seat and began to read the journals…

#

SLURP!

"GAH!" Bad moaned as he finished off another monster, this time it was bigger than the last, but unlike before his body was adjusting rather quickly in containing the feast and preventing him from looking too fat to say the least. It's been going on for some time now, in four days he hasn't been able to stop eating the souls of monsters. They at least kept him filled, yet he wondered how these monsters are somehow lured to him?

It as if they are purposely being driven towards him in a sense, he shook his mind clear of the notion as his stomach churned and settled once more. "God I hate this…" he muttered and muffled a burp.

"BAD!"

Dropping out of the sky was Garou, the moment he hit the ground he stared at him with anger. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING EATING SOULS!" he demanded. "You nearly ate 10,000 of them and now… you're eating monster souls!?"

"I can't help it!" Bad snapped back. "I'm hungry and I am craving this! Back off man!"

"You… are eating… SOULS" Garou said more slowly. "Bad, this isn't you… this isn't like you at all!"

Metal Bat began to tear up. "I know…" he whimpered. "I… I can't stop myself… I get so hungry and… and… Oh God!" he fell to his knees and sobbing to it all. It pains him, Garou knows it does and here he stand lecturing him about it.

"I know the feeling Bad, don't you think I've been there before meeting you?"

He settled himself down as he slowly looked up to Garou, this time his face was sincere. He did know this feeling; he fought it for hundreds of years on his own. "Bad, let me help you." He said. "Let's go speak with Snek…"

Bad nodded to the idea, they began to walk back to the Heroes Association when Sonic appeared. He bowed and said. "My King, there is another monster in the area, I believe you need to dispatch it at once…"

"Oh, you mean that jackass three streets down? I took care of it." Garou said.

Sonic froze. "Took care of it? What do you mean you took care of it?" he demanded. "That was an offering for MY KING!"

"Whoa, hold on there!" scolded Bad. "What's the big deal… what do you mean offering?" he demanded.

"Never mind there must be one more here someone, we just need one more…"

"One more what?!" Bad demanded. "Sonic… answer me!"

The ninja froze, realizing he had let too much escape his lips. "It… matters not, my King. Forgive me…"

"Don't you dare disappear on me or I will chase you back to the Shadow Realm!"

"NO!" Sonic protested, and then froze once more. He paused and sighed. "My King… I am indeed feeding you souls, for your body craves them. Ten thousand souls will sustain you for hundreds of years so you do not have to consistently feed. As well, I am ensuring to use monsters for they are far more filling for you." He explained.

"Wait, you are having me eat these things, so I don't have eat them for a while?"

"Yes my king."

Bad paused. "And I just need to eat one more to ensure that?"

Sonic's eyes widened as he feared the words, with a nervous gulp he nodded. "Yes, my King."

Bad began to approach him as a nervous sweat came over Sonic. However Bad merely stood before him and said. "Where's the other monster?"

#

Garou led Bad down the street to where he killed the last monster, despite it being dead, it still casted a shadow. Bad shrugged as he decided to give it a try. This one offered no resistance or put up a fight as the drained the shadow out of it. Bad ate it with no problem and didn't even feel sick! With a gratifying gulp, his stomach filled, but then, an odd sensation came over him. "Ugh…"

"Bad?" asked Garou.

"Man I feel like something heavy just sat in me… damn!"

"It will pass my King, I assure you." Sonic said but his smile was something he couldn't contain.

Bad was rather nervous to it. "Uh… Sonic… don't make that kind of face around me, it's really creepy"

Instantly his grin vanished as he bowed once more. "My sincerest apologies my King!" he stated. "Please, rest now, you have succeeded in warding off your hunger for a while. Just relax yourself and don't take many risks. You are our great King after all!"

"Uh… yeah… Okay… Garou, let's go train."

Sonic flinched. "Oh… My King… I do not recommend…"

"It's just a light sparring what's the big deal?" Bad snapped back. Sonic paused but shrugged.

He turned to Garou and said. "I would be careful if I were you… don't overdo it"

As Sonic vanished, Garou turned to Bad. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that was a threat!"

"Psh, whatever man, come on, let train and get my mind off this damn soul eating business!"


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Bad stood in the middle of the sparring room, yet for a strange reason, he didn't feel like he needed his metal bat along with him, if anything he tucked it away in his shadow as Garou stood there confused. "Really? No bat?" he demanded.

"Yeah, got a strange feeling though… you ain't going to be able to lay a finger on me."

A smirk came over that of Garou. "Oh really? That confident Mr. Fat Bat!"

"HEY!"

Garou began to walk about, keeping a close eye on Bad and yet waiting for his moment to strike, but, something was off. As Garou walked, there came a swirl of black smoke around Bad. It grew thicker and more intense as Garou stalked him. "That's new…"

Bad peered to the ground and nodded. "Yeah… Wait I used this before to repel the vampires at one point… but this feel different."

"Different how?"

Bad shrugged. "I think this is a lot more aggressive, whatever man, as I said you aint going to lay a finger on me!"

Garou's smile grew, he did love a challenge to say the least. With that, he made his move, with speeds beyond that of the human eye, he began to dart around the room, Bad could barely see him move about as Garou appeared to have grown faster than before. Yet suddenly.

BASH!

Bad jumped as Garou was smashed into the wall! He was stuck there for a moment before slowly sliding down it and landing upon the floor. "Shit, Garou!"

"I'm okay…" he said and shook it off. He stretched himself out but was rather confused. "I didn't see what hit me."

"I didn't see it either!"

"One more time…" Garou said as he got ready once more, he moved faster this time, trying to stay ahead of whatever struck him. Bad on the other hand began to notice the smoke around his feet intensify in their swirl, it grew thicker, stronger and moved far faster than before when suddenly it manifested right before him. Garou just missed the strike by a hair but was forced back. "Shit!" he said. "That was you?"

Bad froze as he shook his head. "I ain't doing nottin'!" he protested. "This thing's got a mind of its own!"

The dark smoke began to grow thicker around Bad's feet, it rose up until it was at his knees to say the least. "What the hell is going on?!" Bad was panicked as it grew thicker and continued to rise. Then, the smoke suddenly poured into Bad!

He couldn't understand why, but this smoke pierced his body until the room was completely emptied of it. Bad trembled as he fell to his knees. Garou was quick to rush to his side. "Bad? BAD!"

"Hey… I'm okay… what the hell just happened?"

Garou didn't know. Yet as Bad peered up into his face, the human monster was stunned. "Bad… you look like you again!"

"Huh?"

"You don't look like your shadow King form… still fat, but you look like yourself!"

Bad peered down at his hands and saw his natural skin color returned. He took a deep breath and sighed with relief. "Thank God… now to get rid of this spare tire!" he said as he patted his stomach.

"I'm sure I can help you with that. Still, that's some power you possessed. You were right. I couldn't lay a hand on you!"

Bad smirked as the two called it a day. "Let's go pick up Zenko."

#

"I said NO!"

Zenko was confronted by a bunch of boys, they have been causing trouble as of late and refused to leave the girls alone. One of them has set his sights to her now, insisting if they want them to stop, her brother has to step in. "Go on, call big brother, get him to make us stop. We will only stop for an S Class hero!"

"This isn't funny!" she protested. "You've been beating up other kids for that! My Big brother has far more important things to do than to deal with you!"

"Oh really? So if we say… rough up his little sister…" The boys were two grades higher than she was, the teachers have no control over them and insisted that 'boys will be boys'. However, Zenko refused to believe such a mantra.

She was soon backed into a darkened corner, she felt her body quiver and shake. Igris was getting mad! "I am warning you now, stop what you are doing or my friend will get very upset!" she warned.

"Ooo little girl's imaginary friend is going to… beat… us…" they froze. Six boys couldn't help but see a pair of flaming blue eyes staring out from the shadow behind her, then the fangs that followed, the massive snout of a dragon appeared!

"AAAAHHHHHHHH!"

They couldn't run away fast enough, the boys utterly terrified to the monster that is Igris. She gave off a sigh of relief. She turned and thanked the dragon for his efforts. "I do appreciate that thank you" she said and gave a respectable bow.

The dragon gave one as well before vanishing into the shadow once more. Zenko wondered about until she saw Garou waving her over, but was even more stunned to see her brother at his side! "BAD!" she cheered.

Rushing into his arms, he smiled and swooped her up off the ground. "Hey little sis!"

She paused as she stared into his eyes. "Something is off about you…"

"What? You miss the freaky eyes?" he asked with a smirk.

She shook her head. "No, something else… I can't quite put my finger on it."

"Either or, I am not going to complain I am starting to look like myself again!"

She smiled to that, but the notion in her mind that something was off about her brother wasn't going away any time soon. "Say, don't you owe her a trip to some amusement parks and stuff?" Garou asked.

"Shit, I nearly forgot about that! Z it's the weekend, what do you say? We got to the amusement park?"

"YES!" she announced with excitement. "You can finally win me that prize you couldn't get last year!"

"Prize?" Garou asked with great intrigue. "Do tell…"

"Ain't nothin'"

"Bad spent all his money last time trying to get me a teddy bear, but it was a game of skill and he couldn't quite get all the rings on the bottles."

A cocky look came over Garou. "Well, in that case. I will win it for you!"

"Like hell you will! I promised her I would!"

The smile only grew on Garou. "I accept your challenge then, whoever gets Zenko's prize first, wins!"

"Fine… no powers!" Bad stated.

"Don't need em." Garou replied with a confident grin. "You on the other hand…"

"Shut the hell up!"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The day at the amusement park was one for the ages. Not only did Bad have a contest with Garou throughout the whole day, the two went from vendor to vendor attempting to win the top prize for Zenko.

Bad got a few, however Garou's skills were second to none. Everything was won with a simple flick of the wrist. "You got to be cheating!" Bad protested.

But the Human monster only smirked as he proved he wasn't time and time again. Bad couldn't sense him using his powers, so this was all pure skill! 'Son of a bitch!' he cursed at the thought. Yet just as he was loathing it all, a plush toy was presented to him. "What the hell is this?"

"I won it for you." Garou said with a grin. "You seemed like the kind would like a plush toy, granted it's an alligator but still,"

Bad stared at the rather large toy alligator it was soft and squishy to say the least, despite his pride being hurt, he still kept the toy! They tried every confection, every treat and food that was offered to them. It was the first time Bad felt as if he had a normal life in ages. There was no pressure to be something he wasn't, he also felt like his old self again.

"Big Brother… my arms are getting full!"

He paused as Zenko was nearly hidden under the mount of toys that were won for her. Bad smirked only to realize he should have brought the wagon along! As he wondered what to do, he turned and found Zenko was gone! Garou just vanished disappearing with her behind one of the tents. "Wonder what they are doing?" he thought aloud.

Yet as soon as they left, the crowd began to look towards the sky, Bad was curious enough to turn around and saw Metal Knight flying in! "Haven't seen him in a while…" The scouter robot landed, just as the people clamored to Metal Knight, he was eyeing Bad. He ignored all the other people around him before approaching Bad. "Metal Bat… may I have a word with you?"

"Huh? A word? About what? Something going on? Is there an attack?" he asked.

"No, just… I am a little concerned for you, please. A word in private?"

From the corner of his eye, Bad saw Garou who kept himself hidden with Zenko, he gave but a nod to him to go. So he agreed. Metal Knight suddenly grabbed hold of Bad and took off into the sky! They flew out of range of the amusement park, into the city and came to land on the highest rooftop. "Whoa… that was sudden… what's up?"

"You have been enchanted, haven't you?"

"Say what?"

"Why are you with Garou all the time?" Metal Knight questioned. "I am aware that Garou is to be kept a close eye on, yet, since when has he been those close to the likes of you. I have come to believe you have been enchanted by the Other in such a form. It would greatly explain your drastic change in appearance. He's fatten you up for blood consumption!"

"Other?" Bad asked. 'Well the last thing he said would have made sense if this happened first… might as well roll with it.' He thought.

Metal Knight continued. "Creatures of myth and legends, they exist Bad. Didn't you know?"

"Uh…."

"It matters not, I see an opportunity here and I need your help. For some time I have suspected Garou as to being an Other. I have tried to prove that to our fellow S Class heroes but found it rather impossible to convince them. But I know the truth and I need your help. Will you help me prove that what I say is true? Expose Garou and we can show the world that these creatures exist! They must be stopped, they are no better than the monsters themselves!"

Wait…

Bad took a moment. "No better than the monsters themselves? Are you suggesting…"

"It's the only way, we need to purge this world of these Others, but I need help to convince the S Class to do so. Bad… please help me." He said in the most sincere tone a robot could muster.

'So… he doesn't know about me… being Garou's match… or being the Shadow King?' Bad thought. "Let me think about it man, you know it's weird of me to say but I sort of believe you… but I ain't fully convinced either."

"It's understandable. Thank you for your time, if you are ready to speak with me, use the line at the heroes association. I will return you to your sister, but keep your guard up on Garou! You maybe watching a monster!" he warned.

With that, Bad was grabbed once more and brought back to the amusement part. When Metal Knight took off, Garou was quick to approach. "You okay?" he whispered.

Bad nodded. "What the hell is Metal Knight? Does he not know…"

Garou shook his head. "You need to understand Bad, Metal Knight, he's a slayer. His specialty… creatures like myself and Snek, he calls us Others and are not fit to share the same ground as humans."

"Then why the hell is he an S Class hero?!"

"Easy… so they can keep a closer eye on him."

#

The continued about the carnival, however, Bad kept dreading what he just learned.

Metal Knight is a slayer… he kills creatures who are not human, but why? How did this obsession come about? Not to mention, how is it that he doesn't know the truth about Bad. He shuttered at the thought of it all. "Big Brother?" Zenko asked with concern.

"Oh sorry just thinking… say, where did your toys go?"

"Igris took them!" she said. "That was very nice of him to do so."

"I figured if he could hold on to them until we get home… In exchange he wanted candy apples and cotton candy."

Bad smirked, but paused. "I haven't been to the shadow realm in ages, should I go and make sure everyone is okay?" he asked.

Garou shrugged. "I think they are fine, if something wasn't they would have let you know by now right?" he asked.

{My King?}

"Oh almost as if right on queue…" Bad muttered. "Jima?"

{Yes my King, if I may speak with you a moment alone… perhaps not so crowded?"}

"Yeesh, I'm popular today. Okay, be back guys, got to find a quiet spot."

Garou nodded as he took Zenko by the hand. "Let's see how much junk food we can eat before he gets back!"

"HEY! Don't over do it on the junk food!" Bad scolded.

"Whatever you say, Fat Bat."

"HEY!"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Bad found a secluded area.

There were hardly any people around so he was able to hold a conversation. Jima appeared before him and bowed, yet, there was a strange stare on the face of the naga. "Something wrong?" Bad asked.

"Oh… NO! No of course not my King!" he protested. "I am merely… observant…"

"I get it, I got fat, let's move on from it. I ain't use to digesting souls yet."

Jima cleared his throat. "Indeed, but rest assured my King, no matter what your physical appearance maybe, your legions do not care. Your power speaks for itself."

"Enough with the ass kissing, what's up?"

"I wish to explain that the realm is in good hands. We are not fighting or bickering among ourselves, we are at the ready for when you need us as well…" Jima paused. "Your aura has hidden quite nicely…"

"Huh?"

"Your power that would spill over, you have not quite contained it before, but now. I swear to you, you appear and sense as a human being." He explained. "Perfection"

"Oh… great… say Jima… how long does it take to digest vampire and monster souls? I don't like looking fat to say the least."

"I cannot say for certain my King, I know is that it takes time due to the age, as well your additional meals that have been added onto those… it would length the digestion time for a while. But it will depend on you in the end. As I said, we do not care to…"

"You may not, but I do!" Bad snapped back. He sighed though. "Sorry, frustrated."

Jima nodded. "My King, we are made aware of one Metal Knight, we suggest you follow Garou's suggestion and instruction to avoid him or at least keep your power hidden from such a mortal. We have seen him slay before, he is very good at what he does and very merciless."

Bad gulped his pride a little. If Metal Knight knew the truth about him, he wouldn't hesitate to come at him either with everything he's got. "I will keep that in mind, for now he considers me to be an ally… yet I ain't believing that fully. I mean that guy has the Heroes Association wired, how can he not know about me?" he asked.

"That or he does, and intends on using you." Warned Jima.

He nodded. "I'll be sure to keep my guard up. If anything goes on in the Shadow Realm?"

"We will inform you at once my King" Jima said with a bow.

Bad nodded in agreement. When Jima vanished, he rejoined his sister and Garou. True to Garou's word the two were having the biggest sundae offered. People had gathered around and watched them attempt to conquer Mount. Brain freeze. Winner gets a lifetime pass to the amusement park! Only three had managed to do such a job.

Pig God

Some other guy Bad never heard of

Lastly, Saitama.

However the challenge quickly ended when Garou found himself unable to deal with the chill of an ice cream headache. Zenko fell shortly after. "Ringer! I call for a ringer!" Garou shouted. He then pointed to Bad. "Finish this… lifetime passes!" he said.

Bad rolled his eyes but he smirked. "What the hell." Taking a seat, and a spoon in hand, he began to eat…

#

"What a load of shit!" Garou muttered as they left the amusement part. "You ate the rest of it, that should have counted!"

Bad managed to finish off the sundae with great ease, however since there is a rule dictating that those who signed up for the challenge must be the ones to finish it, the attempt for the lifetime passes was all for not. Garou still sulked on the idea as Bad carried Zenko on his shoulders. She had passed out from today. "Take it easy man, besides if we won it… wouldn't it be weird for them to see us year after year… unchanged and still looking like 18 year olds?" Bad asked.

"It's the principle of the matter!" Garou snapped back. "Lifetime passes, they never dictated that those who are immortal can't enter. I mean Pig God and Saitama have passes!"

Bad snickered to the thought of it all, they were silent as they walked home from the day of fun. "Today was great." Bad announced. "I don't think I felt that care free in a while… until Metal Knight that is."

Garou nodded. "Yeah, he's not exactly going to leave you alone is he?"

He shook his head, but that wasn't what bothered him. "Metal Knight BUILT the Heroes association right?" he asked.

Garou nodded his head. "So, how could he not know my secret?"

This made Garou paused. "Wow, you do got a brain in there!"

"Shut up" Bad snapped back. "Look, I know I ain't the smartest guy out there, but I know when something don't feel right. This… don't feel right to me."

Garou nodded. "What are you thinking then? What is his purpose in contacting you?"

Bad shrugged his shoulders. "If anything, he probably sees me as some stupid kid that will follow him blindly. I know he is trying to use me as bait, probably to get to you and perhaps lure out any of the 'Others' at the heroes association…" Bad suddenly paused but smirked. "Maybe I ought to just play along?"

"What? Bad…"

"He's after me, he probably knows what I can do… that or he thinks I am just that in tuned into your powers. Let's talk to everyone tomorrow about it, see what they think."

Garou nodded.

By the time they got home, Bad got Zenko to bed. They headed up some leftovers for dinner and before long, the day caught up to them. Bad stretched himself out and yawned when he suddenly felt like doing something different for bed. He changed into his Pjs but slipped into Garou's room and tucked himself in. When Garou arrived he paused. "What? Your bed not good enough for the great king of the shadows?" he joked.

"Get your ass to bed already!" Bad scolded.

Garou smirked as he playfully jumped under the covers. His arm wrapped around Bad as he nestled himself in. "I like paunchy Bad… he's a lot nicer to hug."

"You get fat and I'll let you know if you are better to hug."

"Yeah… no."


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

"Damn it, I should have accounted for this!"

"It's not your fault Snek,"

"No it is!" he protested. They had an early morning conference. Snek, Bad, Garou and Pig God. Bad explained the situation from yesterday, which prompted Snek to rake himself over the coals for his lack of attention on the matter. "Metal Knight is a known slayer of what he calls "Others" aka, us!" he stated. "Look, I don't know how to deal with him at the moment. We have just managed to keep him off our trail for a while, but…"

"He has access to all the videos here, doesn't he?" Bad asked.

"Yeah, he does. But we have enchantments in place so if someone is showing off their true form, like when I do, it's not recorded, if anything I just appear as I do now in my human state." Snek explained. Yet as he turned to Bad he couldn't ignore the sensation. "You think he knows about you?"

He nodded. "Just by the way he spoke, since when the hell does he ask another hero for help, let alone from some kid like me?" Bad questioned. "Metal Knight is an army of one isn't he? He doesn't ask for anyone's help and much rather do things alone. So… I can't help but believe he knows the truth about me, at least part of it, to lure Garou out."

Snek paused as he considered the notion. "It's logical… since when the hell do you think things through?!"

Bad shrugged. "I got a hot streak going on, what can I say?"

Snek nodded yet he paused again. "What happened to your aura? You couldn't have contained it already on your own!"

Pig God then stared at Bad oddly. "Strange, I just noticed that now too… Is everything okay Bad?"

A blush came over Metal Bat. "I… uh… ate… more souls recently…" he said hesitantly.

Snek was stunned. "You WHAT! AFTER NEARLY EATING 10,000 VAMPIRE SOULS YOU ATE MORE!"

"Apparently when he reached 10,000. The craving for them would stop according to Sonic. We did a light spar session after. Bad's gotten stronger but shortly after the mist he was expelling was quick to gather and enter his body. Since then, he's been like this." Garou explained.

"10,000 souls…" whispered Pig God. "Why does that seem to mean something more to me?"

"Either way, I haven't eaten a soul since, I swear to God!" Bad announced. "No souls, no blood from Garou. I still eat a lot, but I'm cool with that. I just got to lose some weight and it will be fine… right?" he asked.

Snek sighed in defeat. "I can't complain about the results, but I got to make record of it."

"So be it," muttered Garou. "But what do we do about Metal Knight?"

"If Bad wants to handle it, I say go ahead." Announced Pig God.

"Huh? Really!?" Bad asked.

He nodded. "A mere mortal such as him should know what happens when you tempt fate. You can easily overpower him and perhaps encourage him to change his ways before its too late. He fails to realize, the more he kills of our kind… the greater the punishment he will face later."

Bad shuttered. "Shit, I even got a chill from that!"

Garou did too. "When Pig God says something that serious, he means it!"

#

Bad ventured to the upper levels of the Association, he found Metal Knight's scouter once more roaming the halls, yet it froze the moment its sights set on Bad. "Metal Bat" it called.

Bad turned and waved. "Hey, about what you said yesterday… Let's talk about that"

Metal Knight's robot nodded. "Not here." It said in a hushed tone. "Follow me."

Bad decided to follow the robot out of the association, there a drone appeared in the front entrance with a transportation pod. 'Defiantly a trap' Bad thought.

"Let's speak somewhere more… private. In here, we will depart immediately."

Bad smirked as he walked into the pod, the robot followed as the door slammed tight and took off. The scouter drone shut off, yet Bad could hear a speaker turned on. "Nice little transportation thing you got… so where are we going?" Bad asked.

"Metal Bat… how long were you going to hide this?"

"Huh? What you talking about?!"

Metal Knight chuckled. "Oh youth these says, have no idea what is going on in the world. I have done research Bad, I have seen him feed off of you. Garou has chosen you to be his blood supply. I am going to cut him off from it and starve him to submission!"

"Riiight" Bad said with sarcasm. "So… what are you going to do with me huh?"

"When Garou is dealt with, I will unfortunately have to deal with you as well, but make it appear natural. I am so sorry Bad, there is no cure for vampirism." The pod jolted as it came in for a landing. Bad was preparing for the worst as the bottom part gave way! He dropped down the shoo before landing in a prison cell.

"Huh, could be a little more cozy, perhaps something SOFT to land on!" Bad protested.

One of Metal Knight's bigger bots emerged from the darkness. "It's a shame this had to happen to you Bad, but please know this is for the benefit of all. Garou comes from a very powerful vampire family…"

"I know, we killed them in battle when his mother wanted his power. She wanted to destroy the world, not Garou!" he protested.

The robot froze. "His mother? What war?!"

"You know jack shit do you?" Bad sighed. He picked himself up off the floor and leaned against the metal bars rather casually. "Look man, you think these guys are evil, sure some are. Just like people, but they ain't all that bad! Trust me, I know!" he protested.

"What would you know of the darkness in this world? You are just a young fool. Bewitched by a vampire's charm to say the least… this why your physical appearance altered, are you not aware of your own transformation?"

Bad snorted. "I wish that was the cause, you really think I would let myself go after meeting Garou? Like hell that would happen, I want to keep up with him not become a lazy ass!" he protested. "I got to nip this now before you cause so serious harm. Seriously, you are doing far more harm than good Metal Knight."

"What do you intend to do? You are trapped in a cage made of pure silver, weakness to a vampire, even a halfling like yourself…" before Metal Knight could finish, Bad already phased through the bars and was on the other side. When it was noticed. Metal Knight summoned all his weapons and took aim at Bad. "What… how could you do that?!" he demanded.

Bad shrugged. "Dunno, first time trying it myself. Envisioned myself turning into smoke and boom, through. Not a bad little trick…"

The robot stood firm as its guns began to power up. "This is complicated… I never anticipated you to do that… I am sorry Bad, there is no other way to save you from a damned life."

The robot fired everything it had at him. Bad didn't even move as the familiar black aura returned and encased around him. He felt no impact of the blast, bullets or heat that Metal knight launched. The room filled with smoke and dust, yet Bad could see through it all. The robot used every weapon it possessed and was now cleaned out. Bad slowly lowered his aura, Metal Knight was at a loss for words. "You done yet?" Bad demanded.

"What… this is not mere vampire power…"

"Figured that out huh? Look man, I ain't here to cause trouble, I don't want us to fight over nothin', all I am saying is you need to back off when it comes to what you call 'Others' okay?"

However the robot powered up again. "I will save humanity! I will protect them from such monsters who walk among them!"

Bad rolled his eyes as another barrage came at him, he should have know Metal Knight would have put in a backup system just in case it used all its ammo. Once more the black smoke took the impact, but then, it fought back! He never gave the order or even thought to it! The smoke acted on its own accord wanting to protect him! Four sharp wisps came out of nowhere and severed the arms and legs of the droid. "Ooo damn, I hope you ain't in there!" Bad said. The smoke infiltrated the cracks of the metal, sparks began to fly as circuits were severed and parts became displaced. The robot was being dismantled from the inside out!

"How… how can this be possible? What did Garou do to you?"

"This ain't Garou's doing… some of it but not all of it you see." Bad said. He sat down on the chest piece of the fallen robot. Despite it trying to activate what little weaponry it had left, it was unable to. "Metal Knight, listen to me, and listen good. You got to stop man, you don't have good karma built up here, and the more harm you do the greater the price you are going to pay, just a warning to you now." He said.

"Why… why warn me?" he asked nervously.

"As I said, we're Class S heroes, we worked hard to keep the people safe. This is part of my hero duty too is to keep my allies safe. So, quite your slaying business while you can, or you are gonna suffer for it."

"Tell me… what are you?"

Bat stood up and off the robot, he found the exit door and was about to leave. "I'm the Shadow King."


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Bad nearly forgot what peace was for some time.

After all, he's been through two vampire wars, some assassination attempts, and a hostile take over for his own body! But now, there appears to be a sense of ease and peace to it all. Four months would pass when things changed. One, the disappearance of Zombieman wasn't to be taken lightly. Bad ordered his legions to find him and now when Pig God voiced his concern.

Zombieman would show up later that day after Bad's order.

Oddly though, he appeared paler than usual. "Z man, you okay?" Bad asked.

There were no words to him, he just stared at Bad oddly before wondering off, he even started to move like a zombie no less! Bad merely shrugged it off. He was quick to go to the cafeteria for a meal; his hunger has been getting a little out of control as of late. Granted, he still hasn't lost any weight, but he hasn't really been gaining it either. Garou doesn't feed off of him as often anymore so the reason for this spike in appetite was one he was keeping a close eye on.

There have been no attacks from the 'Others' as Metal Knight would say, nor has he made a move against them. Any time Bad's in the area, he quickly left without provocation. Garou has been training intensely as of late, but finds that he lacks a challenge. "Bad… let's spar!" he insisted as Bad was having a meal.

But he shook his head. "Not in the mood man."

"Huh? Since when?" he demanded.

"Just not feeling it. Sorry another time okay?"

Garou's arms crossed as he tapped his foot rather impatiently. "You have blown me off for a spar session each and every time, what are you scared!?"

Bad shook his head. "Told you man, ain't in the mood, besides, I can kick your ass any time and any place. You know that." Bad teased and smirked. "I just want to enjoy my lunch if you don't mind…"

"Huh… who are you and what have you done with Bad?! You're too… calm and complacent!"

It was true, over the past few months Bad hasn't really been himself. He was like a whole different person! He wasn't getting in anyone's face, he wasn't yelling as loudly, he appeared almost as if he found inner peace or something! "Lover's quarrel?" Joked Atomic Samurai.

"Nah, Bad's just broken or something…" muttered Garou.

Atomic paused as he stared down Bad who was calmly eating his meal, taking small bites elegantly rather than shoveling as much as he could pass his lips in a short amount of time. "Yeah, something seems a little off to me too. Have you spoken with Zombieman? The guy hasn't uttered a word since he got back!"

Garou nodded. "I've tried to earlier, but didn't get anything out of him."

"Bad, you gonna sit here and eat?" asked Atomic.

"Yep" he announced and went back to his meal. Still he ate at a slow pace, savoring the food. He never does that when he's hungry!

"I've seen him eat souls faster than this, and that's them putting up a fight." Muttered Garou.

He didn't care, as the two left Bad went back to his meal. "Hey Bad!" called Stinger and Lightning Max.

"Hey guys, long time no see!"

Max was staring at the selection on his table. "Wow, you haven't had this much since we first realized Garou was a vampire… you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just hungry is all. What's up with you two?"

"Well, since the wars ended, we are still training with Snek! You know, safe than sorry to be sure no one else comes and threatens our way of life," Stinger explained. Yet he paused. "Still a little chunky aren't you?"

"First one of ya that calls me Fat Bat, gets belted!" he warned.

The two put up their hands in surrender. "No, we would never say that!" protested Max.

Bad settled himself as we want back to his meal. "So… we're wondering if maybe when you are up to it, can you help us train? I mean you got some shadows in your legions who were warriors right? Would they be able to help us?" Max asked.

"Oh? You wanna train with those guys? I don't see a problem with that, but after lunch" he insisted.

Stinger and Max high fived each other. "Great, see you when you finish!"

Bad nodded as he went back to his meal. "Huh… why am I so hungry? You think ten thousand souls would keep me filled, that or they are eating this too!" he muttered to himself.

#

He spent some time training Max and Stinger. Calling upon his shadows he instructed them to help the two heroes but not to harm them. "They want to improve their skills, so, no kill shots, don't do anything that could seriously harm them, minor ass kicking are acceptable." Bad explained.

The shadows bowed and nodded. The two he picked happened to be a werewolf and hellcat. They would offer a good challenge to the two, both armed with speed and strength that would keep the two heroes on their toes. With that, Bad went on his way. He was barely down the hall when someone grabbed him and wrenched him towards the side hall.

It was a haggard looking Zombieman.

"Z, you okay?" Bad asked.

He shook his head. "No… no I am not!" he protested. "How long… was I in the shadow realm?" he demanded.

"Well… considering when I last saw you, at least four months."

His expression dropped. "Shit!" he protested. "I'm too late!"

"Too late for what?" Bad asked. "Z, you okay? You've been there for four months, have you eaten anything?" He shook his head. "Shit man, get something to eat!" Bad protested. "Calm yourself down and then talk to me. You look like your name sake!"

As Bad turned his back, Zombieman grabbed hold of his arm. "How long… have you been able to hide your aura?" he asked.

"Well… guess the same amount of time since you left… why?"

He let him go. Zombieman shook his head to it all and said. "How could that have happened in such a short time, without even you knowing how it occurred?" he asked.

That was troubling. Bad however shook it off and insisted Zombieman get something good in him and rest up.

#

He laid awake at night.

Bad stared up at the ceiling, wondering what Zombieman said earlier was something important and significant. "Bad, go the fuck asleep" muttered Garou.

He smirked, Bad and Garou have been in the same bed for sometime now, in his mind it just felt… right. Perhaps it explains his tranquil state of mind? Either way, Bad tried to get himself comfortable as Garou wrapped his arm around him like a massive teddy bear. Bad found it hilarious when he would talk in his sleep. "I won it… about damn time, pain in the ass bear…" was one of his favorites.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"Today we celebrate, it's been a full year since the last vampire war with the covens! One year of peace and since then, it's been pretty damn quiet!" Snek announced to the masses.

Time flies to say the least. Bad brought Zenko along to celebrate the anniversary, Garou toasted everyone but especially Bad for his efforts. "To Bad! May we all stay on his good side!" he announced.

Bad snickered as their drinks were raised. As he took his, Bad felt a little sick. "Gah, again!" he muttered as his stomach churned.

It caught Garou's attention. It's been happening for the pass week to say the least. "You okay? Wanna go lie down?" Garou asked.

"I may need too, damn it…" His whole core quivered and shook oddly, the souls were acting up again to say the least, and it was the same sensation he got after eating them. "I'll be back okay?" Bad whispered as he excused himself out of the room. He couldn't make it down the hall, instead he sat against the wall and tried to nurse his aching belly. "Shit come on, it's been a damn year, you think you are going to get out now!" he scolded his restless stomach. Deep and sickening churns followed with the rebellion, he felt they were going to burst out of him at any given moment!

The moaning only intensified, his gut began to quiver and moan as he felt the souls struggling, pushing out from his stomach and sides. "Shit, shit, shit!" he protested as he fell to his side. Yet as he did, the familiar black mist appeared and covered him in its mysterious veil.

Bad was suddenly in the shadow realm for the first time in a year… and his body was paying the price. "AAHHH! MAKE IT STOP!" he roared in pain. No one move, they were too fearful to do so as Bad was on his knees yet hunched over himself trying to contain the war within him. "PLEASE MAKE THIS STOP!" he begged. "I can't take it!"

He howled in pain, his body arched back as a strong divide came down his stomach. Bad froze as black smoke began to leech out of the sudden wound, he screamed again as the smolder pried it apart, the room filled with the fog as Bad felt as if he were gutted before the masses!

As quickly as it happened, he dropped to his side, weakened and unable to move. His eyes grew heavy, but the last thing he heard… was the wail of a newborn…

#

Zenko froze.

"Bad?" she whispered in confusion. Then Garou sensed it, Bad was gone.

"What the hell is this?" Garou muttered as he was quick to exit the room they were having a party in. Zenko followed as Garou wondered down the hallway, he paused where he last sensed Bad. "Bad?" he asked aloud.

"What happened to Big brother? He didn't leave so soon did he?" she asked.

Garou shook his head, yet before he could speak, he was grabbed abruptly! Zenko too! They were pulled into the darkness and ended up in the shadow realm of all placed. Garou was about to speak until Sonic slashed his sword, Garou's shirt was ripped right off as Jima was quick to shove something into his arms.

Garou jolted as he heard an infant scream but was soon calmed down the moment it's skin connected with him. "What… is this?" he demanded.

Sonic was smiling his devious grin. "The heir to the throne!" he said proudly. "Our King has granted us a prince."

Garou froze, his body numb to what he just learned. "Wait… what!" he demanded.

Zenko froze. "That's what was in big brother? That's what I was sensing that was off about him?" she demanded as well.

Sonic nodded. "He needed to drink a special elixir after nearly devouring 10,000 souls. Such a shame he didn't take all of them, it would have saved me the efforts of sending monsters his way…" Sonic said offhandedly.

"You son of a bitch, this was your plan… the whole time!?" Garou demanded, but then turned to the shadows. "And you all knew it!"

None could look him in the eyes. Not even Jima. "We… have been threatened with the notion of a monarch before with the previous king. He sought the elixir that was hidden from him, it prevent himself from creating an heir and also a new vessel to take over. The shadows before me refused to follow a cruel king such as him… Bad… on the other hand… many of us would be proud to die at his side or by his hand. If there were to be a monarchy in the shadow realm, we would certainly want it started by him."

Garou shook his head in disbelief. "You knocked him up for that?!"

"You helped." Muttered Sonic. "It's your blood that made the prince whole"

Garou suddenly began to feel rather pale. "My… blood… my… he's… my son?" he muttered.

The shadows nodded. "A very powerful prince, he does not have your vampirism, he won't need blood to survive, but he will have to feed off of both parents until he is strong enough to feed himself." Jima explained.

"Feed him? How…." He froze.

Garou suddenly flushed read as the child latch itself on to his chest and started to suckle. Worst still, he felt something coming out of him!

"Wonderful he has learned to latch on his own!" Jima said with great cheer.

"Where's big brother?" Zenko asked, well, more demanded. Her eyes were rather scary at the moment.

"The king is resting in his chambers, it took a lot out of him to say the least." Jima explained. "Both of you, come with me." He insisted. With the wave of his arms, the room shifted, the other shadows were left behind it was only Garou, Zenko, Jima and the newborn. They came before a gigantic double door, Jima used all of his strength to push them open, revealing a spacious bed chamber.

Bad was out like a light in a bed big enough to fit an elephant!

"Big brother!" Zenko cheered as she rushed into the room. She had to be boosted onto the bed and craw a small distance to get to Bad. But when she did, he merely moaned.

"Twenty more minutes please Z, I promise we will go shopping today…"

Garou's heart broke, Bad was in such a weakened state. "Is this why you brought him here?" he asked Jima.

He nodded. "That, and he wouldn't have been able to give birth on the human realm. It was the reason for his pain, the prince was ready to be born for some time, yet was contained within the King until he returned here."

Bad was battling this for three month… all because he was having a baby no one knew about!

Garou sighed as he felt the infant finally detach from him. He stared at the kid for a moment, the newborn barely opened his eyes, but Garou saw it. He had Bad's hair… but his eyes. The glowing yellow eyes that peered through the darkest shadows. "He really is mine, isn't he?" Garou whispered.

Jima nodded. "Indeed, only your blood would do in creating such a strong prince."

Bad suddenly snapped out of bed. "GAH! Huh… what…"

"BIG BROTHER!" Zenko's arms wrapped around him, he smiled and embraced her back. "Hey… where are we little sis?"

Jima was quick to explain he was in the King's chambers… his room should he ever decide to live in the shadow realm. Yet as Bad took it in, he saw Garou holding a small bundle. "What are you carrying?" Bad asked with a smirk.

"Our kid!" Garou snapped back.

Bad suddenly went pale. "Say what…"


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

He didn't remember it…

He didn't remember anything about a kid!

Bad was trying to comprehend it all. Thinking over everything that happened to him yet still couldn't figure out how there was now a newborn baby in Garou's arms, that apparently came from Bad himself! He worked his way down the bed towards the edge, the moment he got his legs over the side, he saw his body had returned to its former glory.

No more Fat Bat!

"Jima… you got a lot to explain to me!" Bad warned.

He hung his head and nodded. "I accept the punishment you may have in store for me, my King. Even if it means to be consumed by you…"

"I ain't going to go THAT far!" Bad said. "Besides… I ate too many of those, I don't wanna for the next while."

The baby began to tear up, Garou passed him over to Bad who was quick to take his. The moment they touched, the baby stopped crying once more. "Whoa…" he whispered. "This is really… he's really our…" Bad stammered.

"Yeah, he's got my eyes…" Garou said offhandedly. "I still don't get how this happened, let alone why the former kings never did this before!"

Jima nodded. "It's a difficult process. Yet given the circumstances, the pervious Kings to my knowledge didn't have many factors working in their favor. One is no strong partner, second, a physical body that would offer protection to the child as it is growing. Lastly, the legions who would support such a notion."

"You all are in on this?!" Bad demanded.

"With all due respect my King. If something were to happen to you, the realm would fall into chaos. There would be civil war within the shadows that could spill out to the human realm, taking lives for the sake of conquest and power. You have become a King that all would follow and respect. It is only right that we establish a monarchy with you." Jima explained.

Bad was furious, Garou could see it on his face as he was fuming but refused to burst since he has a newborn in his arms. Through gritted teeth though he said. "Next time, you damn well ask me what I want and if I was willing to do this!"

Jima froze and nodded his head fearfully. Bad managed to make a sling for the baby as he wrapped it around his chest from his power, he stood up and demanded to speak with the legions about their actions. With a nod Jima changed the room as they were brought before the shadows once more. When their eyes came upon Bad. Everyone bowed, yet they made certain to be on their knees and their foreheads hit the ground. "You all knew about this huh?" he demanded.

"No… not all!" Jima stated. "The council did… and that of your body guard and his peers."

Bad's glare came to Sonic who was now trembling. "My King, I did it for the good of all!" Bad however wasn't going to hear of it. He wrenched Sonic from the ground and pinned him to the wall by the throat. His mouth began to open as the ninja was now sweating nervously. "Please, my King, I didn't mean to…" the wisps of smoke began to linger out of Bad's jaws and they were taking aim at Sonic! Yet before they could latch on, Bad retracted them and swallowed them down once more!

He released Sonic who was now petrified of it. "Next time… it happens… don't you ever go behind my back again!"

Sonic hit the ground and was humble by the mercy shown to him. "That's goes for the rest of you!" Bad warned. "But for now… we will celebrate. There is a prince, my son… our son" he said as he turned to Garou.

"My King, what is the Prince's name?" Coldblood asked.

Bad thought it over, he didn't know himself, he never named a Kid before! "Botan" said Garou.

"Huh?" questioned Bad.

"Botan… it means long life." He explained, then blushed. "Well… I sort of stole the idea from a fan on a website called tumblr… she does amazing artwork calling herself the-goddessfighter. She actually made a piece of art if we had a kid… and named him Botan… I've liked the name ever since…" he whispered offhandedly.

Zenko smiled. "Botan… yeah, I think that works," she said.

Bad smiled and nodded. "Prince Botan!" he announced.

He never knew shadows could cheer so loudly before, so much so it startled the Prince!

#

"Where the hell did the three of them go!?"

Snek was searching high and low for Bad, Garou and Zenko, but never understood how they could leave on such short notice.

Yet he saw them re-enter the room through the door, Snek pushed his way through as people stopped and stared. Even Snek himself paused as Bad came in with something strapped to his bare chest. "Uh… Bad…" questioned Atomic.

He turned red with embarrassment. "Hey… Oh… I want you all to meet someone…" he gently patted his bundle. "Everyone, this is my son Botan!" he said.

It was so silent once could hear a pin drop.

"OUR Son" corrected Garou.

Some heroes even fainted… Well…Snek did...


End file.
